A Bleached Hogwarts
by MoonGCyn
Summary: Ichigo and a few select Soul Reapers move into Harry's neighborhood. Their mission for the summer and eventually the school year: Protect Harry and the school from Voldemort, Black, and Dementors ON TEMP HIATUS. STORY CONTINUES ONCE COMPLETELY WRITTEN
1. Mail By Bird

**Read Author's Note First Please!**

**A/N: This was thought up and written after I had seen and read the story arc of Bleach where the gang comes back from rescuing Rukia from execution. I had no idea at the time what would happen with Aizen and all that and when I found out, it was too late, as the majority of this story was already written thought up, up to the point where the Bleach characters that I picked were already at Hogwarts and it would have been extremely hard and headachy (if that's not a word, it is now) to change. So I'm leaving it as is. And I don't remember how the hell butterflies work, so I am having them relay the messages through the mind of the **_**recipient**_** only. The letters that the Bleach characters get are written in Japanese. I had the "British Ministry of Magic" send the English letters to the "Japanese Ministry of Magic", where they rewrote and resent the letters to their respective recipients. That's my explanation, anyways.**

**The reason I have taken so long to post this story is that 1) it was doing fine in my head until it started to get too long to the point that if I let it get any longer, I would forget half of the things I had thought up for the beginning, and 2) I wanted to wait until I had at least five chapters written first before posting to give me a bit of a head start. Yes I have five chapters written already but I am only going to post one chapter every week or two, depending on if I get reviews or not. (hint hint) I'll try to stay on track of posting.**

**So if, somewhere in this story you get confused, or if you are like me and would like to know where or when a story takes place during the regular series, just pretend you don't know what happens after Aizen leaves Soul Society and everything should be ok.**

**Disclaimer will be in chapter two.**

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**Chapter One: Mail by Bird**

Ichigo scowled out the window as the teacher droned on about who-cares-what. '_Man, I'm bored.'_ He thought. '_Maybe I should just go home or something. It's not like I'll miss anything. It's the last day of school before summer and yet our idiotic teacher is acting like it's the first day back.'_

Ichigo turned his head to glare at the teacher, who was currently scolding a student for interrupting the lecture. '_What I wouldn't give to be out of here right now. Hell, I wouldn't mind going back to Soul Society for another rescue mission instead of sitting here.'_

As if hearing his thoughts, a small black butterfly flew through the closed window and landed in front of him. _'A hell butterfly?' _he thought curiously as it landed on the back of his hand.

'_**Greetings'.**_ Came a voice in his head. '_**This message is for Kurosaki, Ichigo of the living world. You are requested to attend a mandatory meeting in the private office of Captain Hitsugaya, Toshiro of Soul Society's Tenth Division for a briefing of a mission. Attendance is mandatory. Further explanations will be issued at the meeting, which will be held at one o'clock in the afternoon today. A portal will open on the roof of your school at exactly twelve fifty and remain open for a total of ten seconds. Do not be late.'**_ Then the butterfly flew out of the window before dissolving midflight.

'_O-kay.'_ Ichigo thought slowly. _'Wait, which one was Captain of Tenth Division? Did I meet him? I don't think so. Hmm, I remember Byakuya, that's Sixth Division, the old guy of First Division, Aizen of Fifth Division, I remember hearing that both women captains were Second and Fourth Divisions, and that Kenpachi guy was Eleventh Division. Gin was Third Division and the other guy that went with them was Tosen of Ninth Division. Let's see, that's one, two, three, four, five, six, nine, and eleven. That leaves seven, eight, ten, twelve, and thirteen. No, wait. Captain of Thirteenth Division was that white haired guy, right? The one that fought the old guy. And Uryu said that he fought one of the captains, the one of Twelfth Division and he looked like a robot or something. I don't remember seeing anyone like that, though. And Chad said he was defeated by Captain of Seventh Division, someone named Shunsui. And then there was that guy with the animal head. He was a captain, right? But of which Division? Hmm, I don't think __**anyone**__ saw Tenth Division's captain. Maybe he's some big guy who's more powerful than Kenpachi and that's why he wasn't around. Anyone more powerful than that psycho would be too dangerous to let loose. Come to think about it that whole mission was crazy._

_And what about this mission? I know I said I would rather be on another mission than be here, but now that I think about it, maybe this won't be such a good idea. This mission could totally kill my summer time. Maybe I won't go.'_ Ichigo glanced down at his watch. _'Well, I've still got fifteen minutes to decide.'_ "Mandatory my ass." He muttered.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Ichigo?" the teacher asked, annoyed at being interrupted again.

"No, sir." Ichigo said sarcastically around a yawn. "Not a thing."

Before the teacher could respond, the bell rang overhead, signaling the end of class. "Now, don't forget that just because it is summer doesn't mean you should slack off." The teacher called out to deaf ears as everyone hurried to their next class in the hopes that if they get there quickly enough, school will end faster.

As Ichigo walked down a hall, lost in thought, he failed to notice a large brown owl fly through one of the open windows and pass several startled students until it landed on his bright orange hair.

"What the hell?" he said, trying to glare up at it. The owl stuck out a leg and dropped an envelope in front of his face. Ichigo snatched it out of the air as the owl took flight back out of the window. "Well, that was odd." He mumbled, running his free hand through his hair to make sure the owl hadn't left anything '_unpleasant_' behind. Then he looked back down at the envelope clutched in his hand and read the address scrawled in green ink.

_Kurosaki, Ichigo_

_ Third Floor, West Hallway_

_ Karakura High School_

_ Karakura, Japan_

"What the hell?" Ichigo shouted, rereading the address. _'How do they know where I am? Are they watching me? I don't see anyone.'_ He thought as he scanned the hall. Quickly he turned the suspicious envelope over and opened it, pulling out a few sheets of thick paper. Hastily he scanned the letter.

_**Dear Mr. Kurosaki. We are pleased to inform you that you and a select few have been chosen to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.**_

"I'll say it again; what the hell?" Ichigo exclaimed. "Aw, screw it. Looks like I'm going to Soul Society after all."

Quickly he ran down the hall, heading towards the door with the staircase leading to the roof. As he climbed the stairs, he glanced down at his watch again. _'Almost one o'clock.'_ He thought.

When Ichigo reached the top of the stairs and burst through the door leading to the roof, he stopped when he spotted a raven-haired girl, shorter than himself, standing near the doorway, her back to him. She turned when he emerged from the stairwell.

"Ichigo?" she asked, surprised.

"Rukia?" he asked at the same time. "What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to stay in the Soul Society."

"I did at first but I needed to see Urahara, and after I had left his shop, I decided to visit here first before going back when I got a hell butterfly telling me that I had gotten assigned on a mission and to meet here for the portal to go to the Soul Society and then while I was waiting for it to open, a huge owl flew at me, in the day time, and dropped this letter on my head before flying away." She said all in one breathe, holding up a letter similar to his.

"Hey, I got one of those too." Ichigo said. "But who sent them and how did they know where to find us? And what's this talk about witches and wizards? They can't be real, can they?"

Rukia shrugged. "I don't know, but maybe it has something to do with the mission. I'm assuming you got assigned to it too?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, I did. I'm a bit surprised they would choose me for this though. I mean I did infiltrate their society and break almost every single one of their precious rules and all."

"I know." Rukia said quietly. "Thanks again, by the way."

Ichigo scoffed and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. I told you not to worry about it anymore."

Just then a ripple in the air in front of Rukia had them both turning to face it. Slowly the ripple grew until there was a large hole with a small old fashioned looking village on the other side. This was the gate they were waiting for, the one that would take them back into Soul Society and their new mission.

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Renji lay on his back in a grassy field behind the building that housed Sixth Company, and stared up at the clear sky. "I'm bored." He mumbled to himself. "Wonder what I should do today? Maybe I can go down to the living world and bug Ichigo. Is that allowed? Probably not. Hmm."

Before he could consider anything else, a hell butterfly blocked his view of the sky as it landed on the tip of his nose. "Huh?" he mumbled.

'_**Greetings. This message is for Lieutenant Abarai, Renji of Sixth Company. You have been requested to attend a mandatory meeting in the private office of Captain Hitsugaya, Toshiro of Tenth Division for a briefing of a mission. Attendance is mandatory. Further information will be issued at the meeting, which you and several others will attend at one o'clock this afternoon. Do not be late.'**_

Renji sat up as the hell butterfly flew a few feet away before disappearing completely. "A mission, huh? And with Captain Hitsugaya? Hmm, wonder what this mission is about? Guess there's only one way to find out."

As Renji started to stand, a voice behind him spoke. "Renji." Renji turned to find Captain Kuchiki, Byakuya of Sixth Division, his captain, standing behind him.

"Captain?" he asked, getting to his feet and facing him. "I'm assuming you know about the mission I've just been assigned to?"

Byakuya nodded. "I do. And I believe this letter has something to do with it." He held out a rather large cream colored envelope to him. Renji took it and stared at the address.

_Abarai, Renji_

_ Grassy Field_

_ Sixth Company_

_ Soul Society_

After Renji read the address, he looked up at his captain, who was studying his reaction carefully. "How did they know where I was?" he asked.

"I do not know." Byakuya answered. "However, I do know that this mission is genuine. I was told so by Captain-General Yamamoto himself. This letter is also real, though I do not recognize the handwriting. I sent a hell butterfly to Head Captain when I found it and that was when he explained to me your mission." Byakuya turned and started to walk away. Half way to the building, he paused and spoke. "Let me know how long you will be gone when you get back from the meeting."

Renji nodded before glancing back down at the letter and opening it. He pulled out a few pages of very thick paper and read the first page.

_**Dear Mr. Abarai, We are pleased to inform you that you and a select few have been chosen to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and supplies needed for the school year. Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.**_

"School of WHAT?" Renji shouted.

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Rangiku sat in the private office of Captain Ukitake, Jushiro of Thirteenth Division, sitting on the couch drinking from a bottle of saké while said captain drank tea from a small white teacup. "…So then he said I should work on my paperwork or else he would take away my saké for the rest of the month." Rangiku was saying to the sickly captain. "And I was like, 'But Captain, I finished my paperwork.' and for some odd reason, he didn't believe me. It's like he thinks I'm not responsible enough to do my paperwork without him telling me to. You know?"

"**Did** you do your paperwork?" he asked.

"That's not the point." Rangiku said sheepishly. "The point is that he thinks so low of me."

Captain Ukitake laughed as she pouted. "Well, I'm not going to get in the middle of you and Toshiro but he may have his reasons for thinking the way he does." He said, knowing full well that Rangiku almost never did her paperwork unless Toshiro stood right behind her as she did it. Toshiro complained about her constantly to him, though the young captain preferred to think of it more as a 'heated discussion' rather than complaining. But Captain Ukitake wasn't going to tell her that, if not but for the sake of having to hear about it later.

As Captain Ukitake opened his mouth to speak, a hell butterfly flew into the room and landed on Rangiku's forearm. Both of them stared at it as a voice filled her head.

'_**Greetings. This message is for Lieutenant Matsumoto, Rangiku of Tenth Division. You have been requested to attend a mandatory meeting in the private office of Captain Hitsugaya, Toshiro of Tenth Division for a briefing of a mission. Attendance is mandatory. Further information will be issued at the meeting, which you and several others will attend at one o'clock this afternoon. Do not be late.**_

Then the butterfly rose into the air, disappearing as it made its way to the door. "A mission?" Rangiku asked. She turned to Ukitake, who looked at her with an amused smile on his face.

"I take it you've been assigned?" he asked, having not heard the message. "That's good. Weren't you just complaining of not having anything to do?"

Rangiku smiled. "Yep, but it looks like I do now. What time is it?" she asked, looking around for a clock. When she spotted one, she realized she only had twenty minutes left before she had to be with her captain. "I have to be back at one."

Captain Ukitake nodded. "Alright then. I'm sure we can continue our friendly meeting some other time." As they both stood from the couch, both of his third seats entered the room, pushing and shoving each other to get to the captain first.

"Captain." said the female third seat with a hasty bow after shoving the male third seat into the back of the couch and letting her get to the captain first. She held out a cream colored envelope and handed it to him. "This just arrived for Lieutenant Matsumoto."

Captain Ukitake took the envelope, thanked both of his third seats, and handed the envelope to Rangiku. Both of them stared at the address.

_Matsumoto, Rangiku_

_ Private Sitting Room_

_Thirteenth Division_

_ Soul Society_

"Hey, how did they know I was here?" she asked.

"Perhaps it explains it inside." Captain Ukitake suggested, studying the handwriting. "It doesn't look like any handwriting that I recognize."

"Hmm." Rangiku mumbled as she flipped the envelope over and opened it. She pulled out the strangely heavy papers and both of them read the first one.

_**Dear Ms Matsumoto, We are pleased to inform you that you and a select few have been chosen to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and supplies needed for the school year. Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.**_

"Wizards and Witches?" she asked curiously. She looked up at Captain Ukitake. "Is this for real?"

Captain Ukitake looked up from the letter to her. "It seems so. Perhaps this has something to do with the mission you've been assigned to?"

"Maybe. But then I'll bet Toshiro will know what this is about." Quickly she chugged the last of her saké and headed for the door, Captain Ukitake right behind her. "I'll come back and let you know what I found out about this witch and wizard business." She promised.

"Just don't tell me anything you're not supposed to." He reminded her as she left.

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Toshiro placed the sheet of paperwork he had just finished in the very small completed pile and turned to the massive mountain of paperwork that still needed to be done. It was diminishing slowly but to Toshiro, it hardly looked like he had made a dent in it at all, even though he had been working on them all morning. Sighing, Toshiro grabbed the corner of the next sheet and pulled. As the paper slid from the pile, a large cream colored envelope came with it. Toshiro picked it up and was about to place it back on the pile for later when the address caught his eye.

_Captain Hitsugaya, Toshiro_

_ Desk of Private Office_

_ Tenth Division_

_ Soul Society_

Raising a single white eyebrow, Toshiro brought the envelope closer and put the other sheet of paper back on the pile instead. Flipping over the envelope, Toshiro opened it and pulled out several sheets of thick heavy paper. As he read the first page, the temperature in the room slowly started to drop.

_**Dear Mr. Hitsugaya, We are pleased to inform you that you and a select few have been chosen to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and supplies needed for the school year. Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.**_

By the time he had finished reading, the entire room had completely frozen over and frost had seeped out of the doors and into the hall. '_Is this a joke?'_ he thought, ignoring the startled cries coming from the hall as several passing soul reapers slipped on the frosted floor. There was only one person he could think of who would pull such a ridiculous stunt. "Matsumoto." He grumbled, tossing the frozen envelope and papers in the trash.

As he reined in his power, bringing both the room and hall temperatures back to normal, and turned back to his mound of paperwork, a hell butterfly flew through the window and towards him. Sighing at being interrupted again, Toshiro raised an index finger, allowing the butterfly to land on it, and closed his eyes as the message played in his head. When it finished he snapped his eyes open with a glare as the butterfly flew out the window.

"Damn." He mumbled. "Why do I have to go? Just because I fit the part? Plus I have all of this paperwork to do, not to mention all of Matsumoto's papers, which I will no doubt end up doing in the end; I don't have time to be babysitting a building full of human children. But orders are orders."

Quietly, Toshiro glanced at the clock, which read twelve thirty, and sighed. "Well, I better get reading before my office is swarmed with a bunch of complaining soul reapers and the new deputy soul reaper. I didn't meet him the day he and his companions practically raided the Soul Society but if he's reckless enough to do that, he must be an idiot." Grumbling, he reached into his trash can and brought the stack of thawing out papers and the envelope back out and began reading the other pages, which were written by a man named Dumbledore, Albus and explained everything he needed to know for this mission. "Why me?"

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**A/N: so what did you think? I know it was a bit long and slow but I had to get everyone's letters and stuff to them first. And don't worry, Harry will be here soon. I have to get everyone else settled first. But don't worry, things will pick up soon. Chapters will be posted every other week or so because I have several other stories I need to write for as well. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	2. Start of a Bad Summer

**A/N: Since I got so many people reviewing and PMing me to update sooner, I will update this chapter early. But after this, chapters will be posted every Monday unless I'm still writing it. Now, in this chapter, we get to see Harry. Be warned that this chapter is going to be a bit short, as this is more of an introduction rather than an actual Harry-chapter. He will be in the fifth chapter though. This chapter is just a Harry-intro and chapter three will be the meeting in Toshiro's office and then chapter five will be the kick-off of the story. Please bear with me.**

**Now, for all of those who would like to know, I decided to place this story in the Prisoner of Azkaban timeline. I know it's common but I don't care. I didn't really like anything after Goblet of Fire and I couldn't really see this story meshing well with that one. And anything before Azkaban was too soon. So this is after Harry's second year and after the rescuing of Rukia in Bleach. I am making the Bleach characters pretend to be fourteen and just have them say that in Japan, they start at the age of twelve instead of eleven. It might not mesh well but I'll try to make it work. BTW, I'm following the manga and books, not the movies and anime, as I **_**read**_** those before I **_**watched**_** them.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER ANYMORE THAN I OWN BLEACH. WHICH IS NOT AT ALL. DON'T BOTHER SUING; YOU'LL BE EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED WHEN YOU GO THROUGH ALL THAT TROUBLE AND STILL END UP WITH ****NOTHING****.**

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**I MADE A SMALL CHANGE IN DETAIL TO WHICH HOUSE THE SOUL REAPERS MOVE INTO. ACCORDING TO THE HP LEXICON (GREAT INFO SOURCE) NUMBER SEVEN IS NOT ONE HOUSE OVER, AS I HAVE SAID, BUT ACTUALLY RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. DON'T ASK HOW, I DON'T KNOW, BUT I JUST CHANGED IT TO NUMBER 8 INSTEAD. EASIER TO CHANGE THE HOUSE NUMBER INSTEAD OF THE LOCATION. I KNOW I'M LAZY. BUT CHAPTER THREE IS UP NOW. SO, YEAH.**

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**Chapter Two: The Start of a Bad Summer**

Harry stepped off of the train with his friends and dragged his trunk through the invisible barrier separating the Hogwarts Express from the King's Cross muggle station. As soon as he was a few feet from the barrier, a large beefy man grabbed his trunk and dragged it towards the exit of the station. "Come on, boy!" he called over his shoulder.

Harry glared at the man's retreating back, and then sighed and turned to his friends. "I guess I'll see you guys at the end of the summer."

"Don't worry, Harry." Said the boy next to him with red hair and freckles. "I'll talk to mum and dad and see if we can get you for the summer again."

"Keep your head down." Advised the girl on the other side of him with thick brown hair. "Based on what you told us about your aunt and uncle, if you keep your head down and stay as far away from each other, there may be less chance of a repeat of last summer."

Last summer, a house elf had entered the house and used a spell to hover a pudding into the air and smash it onto the floor in an attempt to 'save' him, and since the magic was done in his house and the house elf had vanished and he wasn't allowed to do magic outside of school, he ended up with a letter from the Ministry of Magic, which caused his uncle to lose a business deal with an important client, stating that if magic was performed in front of muggles again, he would be expelled. And since his aunt and uncle didn't know that he wasn't allowed to do magic, and since they were already angry with him for their losing the deal, when they found out he wasn't allowed to use magic, they locked him in his room, placing bars on his window and installing a cat flap to his bedroom door to slide food through in order to keep him in his room even during meal times. Ron, his red haired friend and two of his older brothers had broken him out.

"Come on, boy!" the man shouted again.

"Thanks." He said to both of them. Then he turned and followed his uncle out of the station and to the car, where his aunt and cousin were waiting.

"It's about time." snapped his aunt as he got into the back seat next to his massive cousin, who scooted as far from Harry as possible as if he had a disease.

Harry rolled his eyes at his cousin and spoke to his aunt. "Sorry, but I can't control when the train gets here." He said. His aunt glared at him before turning around to face the front as her husband got into the car and they drove home.

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As Harry and his aunt, uncle, and cousin climbed out of the car in front of their house, number four of Privet Drive, Harry turned to see a moving truck and a For Sale sign staked in the grass of number eight, the house across the street and one over from their house.

"Are they moving?" Harry wondered out loud.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, who had heard him, turned to see the moving truck drive away, following a dark green minivan. Uncle Vernon narrowed his eyes at the truck while Aunt Petunia, the Queen of Gossip, spoke. "The man lost his job and now they have to move. That's what happens when people slack off and become lazy. They become worthless." She told him.

"Despicable." Uncle Vernon added. Then the four of them turned and went inside. As soon as they entered the house, Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry's trunk, which held all of his school supplies, homework, textbooks, and broomstick and threw it into the cupboard under the stairs, making sure to lock the door before turning and walking into the kitchen, sneering at Harry as he passed.

Harry glared at him before heading up the stairs to his small room. There he set the cage that housed his owl, Hedwig, on his desk and sat on his bed. "I don't want to be here." He said to the snowy owl. "I want to go back to school. At school I'm a wizard. At school I'm a Gryffindor. At school I'm a seeker. At school I'm somebody." He sighed. "Here, I'm nobody. I'm nothing here." He sighed again before getting up and heading towards his window, where he leaned against it and gazed out at the back yard. "I hate summer."

As Harry gazed out of the window, his mind played over everything that had happened the previous year, going through it like a movie set on fast forward, playing up until he arrived home with the Dursleys. Eventually, his mind wandered to the empty house. "I've lived on Privet Drive for years; since I was a year old. But this is the first time I have ever seen anyone move. I didn't even think it was possible to move from this place. I wish I could have gone with them. Left this place for good."

He turned back to Hedwig, who was now cleaning her wings. "I wonder who will be moving in there now. I bet the place will stay empty as long as **they** are here." He told her, **they** meaning the Dursleys. "Maybe whoever moves there will have a kid my age with them. Though that probably won't mean much once they meet Dudley. He's the reason I don't have any muggle friends. Maybe I can try to make friends with them before Dudley can get a chance to threaten them to stay away from me.

Harry turned and walked back to his bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling. As he lay there, his eyelids began getting heavy until he ended up falling asleep, imagining the new neighbors with a kid his age who stood up to Dudley and became his first muggle friend.

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Harry woke a few hours later, his stomach demanding food. Getting up, Harry headed out of his room and down the stairs in time to hear his uncle speaking to his aunt. "I don't like the looks of him." He was saying. Harry stopped and listened at the door. "That man and his white hair; as long as a woman's. I extremely hope he doesn't decide to move in there. The last thing we need is another freak like the boy living on our street."

"Not to mention the negative influence he might have on our Duddikins." Aunt Petunia added.

Harry rolled his eyes and entered the kitchen. Dudley was sitting at the table, watching the television on the counter as he shoveled food into his already full mouth. His aunt and uncle sat at the table as well, his aunt on one side of Dudley sipping her tea and his uncle sitting next to her, reading the paper. None of them looked at him when he walked in, nor did they even acknowledge that he was there, which was just fine with him. He remembered his friend Hermoine warning him to keep his head down and out of their way. Being ignored was definitely going to help.

Harry grabbed a plate from a cupboard and took it to the table, where he began piling food on it, and listened as his aunt and uncle continued their conversation. "If he does decide to live there," his uncle said. "Then we'll just have to make sure him, and anyone he brings along, stay as far from our family as possible or I will have something to say about it."

"Especially keep them away from Dudley." Aunt Petunia said firmly.

Harry tuned them out as he ate, his mind racing with the thought that someone was already looking at the empty house. There was already someone interested, and judging by his aunt and uncle's ravings, it was someone too abnormal for their liking, which meant if the man with white hair had any children Harry's age, he just might get along with them and his aunt and uncle would be so intent on keeping Dudley away from them that he wouldn't be able to threaten the new kids to stay away from Harry. He might actually make a muggle friend! But that was only if the man decided to move in and if he actually had any kids around his age. Somehow he doubted it.

Harry finished eating and took his plate to the sink, cleaning it and placing it on the dish rack before sneaking some of the leftover food on the frying pan into a napkin and heading back upstairs to his room. Last summer he had stayed in his room the entire time he had been home, except for the house elf and pudding incident. He found that the less time he spent around his aunt, uncle and cousin, the happier they all were. And he was planning on keeping it that way.

Harry closed the bedroom door behind him and turned on his light. Hedwig rattled her wings against the bars of her cage when he came in. He walked to her cage and placed the scraps of food in her food bowl. She clicked her beak at him in disdain. "Sorry, Hedwig, but you know you can't come out when we're here, or else I'd let you go get your own food. You're just going to have to wait until the end of summer, when we can go back to Hogwarts." Hedwig gave him what he could have sworn was an offended look as she ate the scraps of food. "It's not my fault. We don't have a choice." Harry sat in his desk chair and scooted closer to her cage. Hedwig hooted at him before turning her back on him.

Sighing, Harry got up and sat on the edge of the bed closest to the window. "I wish we could both fly out of here. We could both live in the owlery of the school during the summer. Even that would be better than living here." So lost in his thoughts that he was that he didn't notice the time slipping past until he heard the rest of the family head to bed.

Finally his mind released him back to the present and he stood up stiffly, stretched and got ready for bed. He turned off his light and climbed under the blankets, imagining a family with white hair who turned out to be wizards like him. And they moved into the empty house and barged into the Dursley's living room, scaring the fat out of Dudley, and demanding that Harry live with them. Harry wouldn't really want to move out of the Dursley's house just to move to a place across the street but anything was better than living under the same roof as them. That was the last thing on the mind of Harry Potter as sleep took him once more.

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**A/N: So how was it? I know, I know. "You call that a chapter?" "That was too short." "Could have been better." Yeah, I know. Sorry but I just couldn't think of anything else to write for this without spoiling the other future chapters. And again, sorry for the long chapter in the beginning. Just wanted to squeeze everyone's letter receiving into one chapter. Chapter three might be just as long but I will try to control myself. Please review and let me know how terribly short this was. Helpful criticism is always welcome. ^_^**


	3. A Quick History Lesson

**A/N: Let's skip the chit chat and just get right into it, shall we?**

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**Chapter Three: A Quick History Lesson**

Toshiro sighed and set the sheet of paper he had been working on in the 'completed' pile and looked at the 'not yet done' pile in disdain. It was noticeably smaller than it had been a half hour ago but it was still painfully larger than he would have liked. After he had read over everything he needed to know for the mission, he had hastily gotten back to work, trying to finish as much paperwork as possible before he left Soul Society **'FOR A WHOLE FREAKING YEAR'!** Perhaps he could take some of it with him? That might work. Toshiro sighed again and looked at the clock; five minutes until one o'clock. _The others should be arriving any minute now_. He thought.

As if on cue, Rangiku burst through the doors. "Captain Toshiro, what's this about wizards?" she asked without preamble.

"It's Hitsugaya." Toshiro snapped. "As for the whole wizard thing, I'll explain that when everyone gets here."

"Ooh, who's all coming?" she asked with the same enthusiasm as if she were asking who was showing up for a party.

"It will be me, you, Abarai Renji of Sixth Company, Kuchiki Rukia of Thirteenth Company, and the new substitute Soul Reaper, Kurosaki Ichigo." Toshiro named off as he looked over his notes. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

The doors opened and Renji walked in. "Captain Hitsugaya." Renji said with a bow. "I was told to meet here for a meeting about a new mission."

Toshiro nodded and gestured to the couch, which Renji sat in. Toshiro glanced at the clock again; two minutes. As they waited, Rangiku and Renji silently exchanged information on what their letters said and what their theories were for the mission. Toshiro half listened as he pulled another sheet of paper in front of him and continued working, occasionally glancing at the clock. '_I'll start at exactly one o'clock. If they're late, too bad._' He thought. '_I'm not repeating anything_.'

Thirty seconds to one o'clock, Toshiro set the completed paper in its appropriate pile just as a soft knock on the door was heard, followed by voices. "What the heck kind of knock was that? That was pathetic." "That was a respectful knock, thank you." "That was pathetic. I doubt anyone even heard you. Here, I'll show you how to knock." Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door, as though someone was pounding on it with their fist. "Hey, open up!" "Ichigo!"

Toshiro clenched his fists, resisting the urge to growl, as Renji opened the door. "Idiot." Renji said. "You do realize we heard everything you two were saying, right?"

Ichigo shrugged, strutting into the room with his arms crossed behind his head. "I do now." Then he turned and faced Toshiro, biting his lip to keep the bubble of laughter from escaping when he saw the Tenth Division's captain. Quickly he cleared his throat and spoke. "So, you're Toshiro, huh? Kind of short, aren't you?"

Toshiro clenched his fists tighter as Rangiku and Renji bit back snickers. Ichigo continued. "So, what's this all about, Toshiro and why am I called here?"

"It's Captain HITSUGAYA, Kurosaki!" he snapped again. "And as for why you are here, I would assume it was obvious from the two different messages you most likely received, that it was a meeting about a mission involving witches and wizards. Although, if you're wondering why **you** were chosen, I'm starting to wonder that myself." Ichigo scowled. "However, if you're wondering what exactly this mission entails, I expect you all to take a seat and be quiet so I can explain."

All four of them sat on the couch as Toshiro moved around some of the papers so he could see better. "Wow, that's a lot of paperwork." Ichigo commented.

"I know." Toshiro said, glaring at Rangiku, who looked away sheepishly. "Now, I'll explain the basics first before I go into what this mission is about and when I do, I don't want any interruptions at all. If, at the end of my explanations, there is something that wasn't discussed, you may ask it." Toshiro paused and waited, making sure there will be no interruptions, before starting.

"First off, as I'm sure you are all wondering, yes, wizards and witches **do** exist. I have spoken to Head-Captain Yamamoto and he has confirmed it. Apparently, there are several colonies all over the world, hidden from the non-magical people, also known to them as Muggles, and kept to themselves as much as possible for centuries. The one we are concerned about is in Great Britain.

"I am assuming you all got one of these?" he asked, holding up the crème-colored envelope. Everyone nodded. "A wizard by the name of Dumbledore Albus, or Albus Dumbledore as he is known over there, is headmaster of this Hogwarts school, which is a school for young witches and wizards, and he has spoken to Head-Captain Yamamoto, seeking our help, though how he knows about us and the Head-Captain is unknown by all except the Head-Captain. Before I get into what he's asking for, however, I must first give you all a bit of a history lesson so that when I explain the mission, it will not leave you quite so confused." There he stopped and eyed each of them in turn, as though daring them to interrupt or complain about the history lesson.

"Thirteen years ago, there was an evil wizard that went by the name of Lord Voldemort. He was pretty much the evilest wizard they had; he killed witches, wizards, and muggles alike, slaughtering everyone who denied him what he wanted or stood up against him.

There are three curses that are called the Unforgivable Curses, which were used by Voldemort throughout his reign of terror. One was called the Imperious Curse, or controlling curse; basically it allows the user to control the mind and body of its victim, whether it was to have it kill others or have it drown itself. Most of the people who were labeled as followers of Voldemort, also known as Death Eaters, claimed that they were under this curse and that that was the only reason they had been following him in the first place.

The second is called the Cruciatus Curse, also known as the torturing curse; this curse is also pretty much what it says; it gives the entire body a sudden surge of pain, so colossal that it has been known to cause the victim to go utterly insane. I was told that that curse was used to keep the followers in line and help 'persuade' others to join them, as well as to torture information out of the victims.

The last curse, and possibly the most atrocious of all, is called Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. This curse was pretty much Voldemort's signature move, so to speak; he used it all the time, on any victim he decided to eradicate. There's not really much to explain; basically it kills without leaving any traces behind. Not only that, but every victim of this curse has gone missing. I don't mean their bodies, but their souls. For some reason, when someone is killed by that curse, their soul disappears and no one knows why, how, or where it goes."

Toshiro paused to let them take this information in before giving them anymore. "Our concern is not with what this curse **can** do but with what it **didn't** do. There is no known defense against this curse once it hits you except maybe to dodge beforehand but even that is a risky move. Yet for some reason, only one person has ever survived it.

Again, thirteen years ago, Voldemort picked his next victims; a family called the Potters. He was especially interested in killing their son, who was only a year old at the time. Now pay attention, as this is where it gets complex and perplexing." Toshiro made sure he had everyone's attention. He was honestly surprised they were being as quiet as they were but judging by the looks of Ichigo and Rangiku, both of whom were visibly fidgeting, he knew it wouldn't be long before one of them burst with an infinite number of questions. "One night, he went to their home and killed the father, James Potter, as he tried to fight Voldemort off, at least to give his wife a chance to run with the baby. Then he killed the wife, Lily Potter, for trying to protect her son. Then he turned to the boy." Toshiro leaned into his desk, his voice getting dramatically low. "Yet for some reason, when he used that curse, the one that killed so many older and stronger witches and wizards, onto that one year old baby boy, instead of killing him, it backfired back onto its caster. No one knows why, no one knows how; but that boy stopped him." He straightened up again, his voice returning to normal volume.

"Unfortunately, Voldemort didn't die as he should have. He disappeared, waiting for his strength to return and his followers to resurrect him. He has been lying dormant for years until recently. Two years ago, with the aid of one of the teachers, now dead, Voldemort attacked that boy at the end of his first year at that school, and then again, though the details for that are a bit complex, at the end of his second year, which is actually the year that just ended. This year, however, things are going to be different, more complex, and that's where we come in. Do you have any questions about any details before I get to the mission?"

"Yeah." Ichigo said quickly. "After this kid gets attacked by this Voldy-guy twice, wouldn't they heighten security on the school or something? And why is this kid so important to kill in the first place?"

"You would think, after past experience, they would amplify security on this kid, but apparently they're not taking it as seriously as they should." Toshiro said with a nod. "And as for why he wants to kill this kid in the first place, I don't know about before, but right now I believe he's doing it because he was defeated by a one year old boy. Kind of takes a hit to the pride."

"Why don't they just hunt this guy down?" Renji asked rationally. "If he lost his strength, then they should be able to take him, right?"

Toshiro nodded. "I agree but there are two problems with that. One: no one knows where he is. No one has been able to find him. And two: the vast majority of the wizarding world believes he is truly dead. And they won't listen to anyone who says otherwise."

"Well, that's stupid." Rangiku scoffed. "It's thinking like that that will get them all killed." The others nodded in agreement.

"So what's the mission?" Rukia asked.

Toshiro looked at everyone in turn before answering. "Our mission is pretty much like security. Our primary focus will be on the boy, whose name is Harry Potter, and those who attack him. Then we focus on protecting the rest of the school. The day Harry's parents died, a man by the name of Sirius Black, who is believed to be one of Voldemort's biggest followers, was arrested by their police, but not before he killed thirteen people. One was a wizard and the rest muggles. This man was thrown into their prison, which is guarded by the most atrocious of creatures ever, which is the other reason we were assigned to this mission. These guards are called Dementors, and basically they eat souls." As he had assumed, there were shocked gasps throughout their group and he hurried on before they bombarded him with questions. "For centuries, souls have been turning up missing in the British areas and it turns out that these wizards have been using these creatures as a type of execution. They have eaten many souls and no one knows how to get them back or if there even **is** a way to get them back.

However, that's not all. Recently, there have been reports claiming that Sirius Black has escaped, which is supposed to be impossible because of the ability Dementors have on people. When a person gets too close to a Dementor, whether or not the Dementors are going after them or not, the person suddenly feels as though they had their energy drained and every happy thought sucked out of their bodies. They feel as if they will never be happy again. It's used by their police as a sort of way to keep the prisoners from having any hope of escape or just any hope in general.

Yet, somehow Black was able to escape and everyone thinks he is now after Harry in order to bring Voldemort back to power. And because they think he will try to attack Harry at the school, they have decided to post Dementors around the perimeter, much to Dumbledore's displeasure, though I don't blame him. Their job is to capture Black without harming students, nor are they permitted to go onto the school grounds. At the moment, the school year is over, so students are returning home, where they will be safe. Our mission to protect the school doesn't start until the school year starts. However, the mission to protect Harry Potter starts immediately."

Toshiro glanced at Ichigo. "I need you to go home, and explain to your family that you will be gone for a year. And pack up for that duration of a stay in England."

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute." Ichigo said, raising his hands in front of him. "A year? A whole year?"

Toshiro nodded. "Unfortunately, according to Head-Captain Yamamoto's orders, we will be spending the summer living in a house a few houses down from Harry and then moving to the school when it starts. Apparently, Harry lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, all of whom are muggles and are as anti-abnormal as possible. We will be living there for the entire summer, keeping an eye on Harry and keeping an eye out for Black, Voldemort, or the Dementors. Yes, Rengiku?" he asked as she raised a hand.

"How will we know what all these people look like?"

"I'll point Harry to you all when we get there." He answered. "We don't have any pictures of him at the moment. Voldemort doesn't have any either but he's almost never seen except by Harry. It should be pretty easy to spot him based on his description. Just look for the evilest looking person around. As for Black, we will be given a picture of him when one is available to the public. Now, does everyone understand?" Everyone but Ichigo nodded.

"Wait, a minute. I never said I would go." Ichigo said. "What if I say no?"

"You don't have a choice." Toshiro retorted. "This is a job for us soul reapers. You are now a deputy soul reaper and this is as much your responsibility as any of ours. If you don't like it, turn in your badge and your sword and go home now."

Ichigo scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, but what do I say to everyone?"

"For your father, tell him the truth. Then you and he can make something up for your sisters. Same for your friends, I don't really care." Toshiro faced the room at large. "We will meet at Urahara's shop at eleven in the morning to get supplies, and for us," he indicated to himself, Rengiku, Renji and Rukia. "Gigais. Kurosaki, you won't need one but you must bring Kon, unless you want another random mod soul running around in your body?" Ichigo shook his head, shuddering. "Good. Now, everyone go pack for a long summer in Britain. Do whatever you need to to prepare for tomorrow. Don't worry about food or money; Soul Society will be taking care of that. In fact, as we speak, Captain Ukitake is being sent to the house we are to live in so he can purchase it for us and stock it with necessary items we will need, such as food and beds. You may go."

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**A/N: So how was that? Interesting enough for you all? I hope so, because things are going to go quickly pretty soon. I know this was short but I wanted the whole Harry Potter details in this chapter and the next bit in the next chapter. But don't worry too much; Chapter Four will be up Friday, instead of Monday to make it up to you all. Chapter Five will be up the following Monday though. I'm working on Chapter Six as we speak so be patient please.**

**Don't forget to review!  
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	4. Karin Learns The Truth

**A/N: Chapter four is now here and don't worry, this story will pick up in the next chapter hopefully. This chapter is a bit long but I couldn't think of any way to make this shorter. This is probably my longest chapter I have ever written at all. Hope it's okay anyway. BTW, Karin's name is pronounced Kah-rreen, with the rolling tongue for R. At least that's how it is in the Japanese version. Not sure about English but I'm going based on that. Although if you want to pronounce it care-rin, that's fine by me.**

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**Chapter Four: Karin Learns the Truth**

Ichigo stomped through the gate leading him back into the living world, down the street, and into his silent, empty house, dragging his new trunk behind him and grumbling about pushy midgets, bossy pint-sized captains, and a ruined summer.

**(FLASHBACK)**

"Before you go," Toshiro said as they headed to the door. Everyone watched as he left the room through a side door and returned with a train of long rectangular boxes tailing behind him. Each one was a different color with a black trim, but was nearly identical otherwise. "These are the trunks, or suitcases, that we will be taking with us. Each one is specifically designed, by Captain Kurotsuchi, of course, to open only for its owner. It opens with a combination of your spiritual energy and a password, which will be the name of your zanpaktou. For example," Toshiro stood next to the blue and black trunk and placed his hand on a flat piece of black metal on one of its long sides, where a lock would have been, maneuvering the angle of his body so that everyone could see what he was doing. "Hyorinmaru." He said clearly, and the entire trunk was outlined in an ice blue, tracing the black, before a soft click was heard and the lid of the trunk popped open an inch.

"That is how it will work." Toshiro said, looking up at them again. "You will place your hand on the piece of metal I just touched and concentrate on the thought of unlocking the trunk. Then say, clearly, the name of your zanpaktou, and it will glow, based on the color of your trunk, before opening. Closing it is easy and anyone can do it but only the owner can open their trunk. It will have your name in both English and Japanese, along with a picture, as a sort of symbol, etched into the name plate. Except yours, Renji; yours will have two pictures since your zanpaktou has two forms: the baboon and the snake."

"Cool." Renji said with a grin.

Toshiro unhooked the cords holding the trunks together and patted the blue one, which was still open. "Obviously, this one is mine. The pink one is yours, Rengiku and the red one is Renji's. The white one is Rukia's and the silver is Ichigo's." He nudged each one as he called them out. "Now, I need you all to come over here and open your trunk. They will not become yours until you use your spiritual pressure to open them. As soon as you do, you are the only one who will ever be able to open it; it will shock anyone else who tries."

Quickly, everyone stood in front of their designated trunk and placed their hand over the metal piece that would normally have a lock, and spoke their zanpaktou's name clearly, as Toshiro had instructed. Rengiku's trunk outlined in pink, while Renji's went red, Rukia's went white, and Ichigo's went a mixture of silver and black, before they heard several soft clicks as their trunks unlocked. "Good." Toshiro said, nodding in approval. "Now go pack."

"Is there anything in particular we will need?" Rukia asked.

"Just something to wear for tomorrow; we will go into the shops in London and buy clothes that will help us blend in over there. Maybe a weeks worth of clothes, since we won't be staying in the muggle world for long. Then it won't matter what we wear because Hogwarts has uniforms. You might also need the basic necessities required for taking care of your gigais." Toshiro shrugged. "That's pretty much it. Food, bedding and money will be provided once we get there. Oh, and one more thing."

Toshiro walked to his desk and pulled out a stack of papers made from the same thick material as their letters, and handed one to each of them. "These are permission slips all third years, which is what we will be, are to have their parent or guardian sign in order to attend the occasional trips into the all-wizarding settlement, Hogsmeade. We will be attending these visits to keep an eye on the students. Only upperclassmen will be allowed to go, so occasionally one of us will need to stay at the school to protect the first and second years. Put them in your trunks for now so you don't lose them. Head-Captain Yamamoto already signed them, so if you lose yours, you're out of luck."

**(END OF FLASHBACK)**

Ichigo continued to grumble as he kicked his bedroom door open and tossed his new trunk onto his bed. Then he walked to his closet and pulled out all of his jeans and shirts and placed all but one of each into his trunk, keeping the last ones out to wear tomorrow. Then he went to his dresser and dumped all of his boxers and socks in the trunk as well, too irritated to even attempt to be neat.

As he was putting his toiletries into the trunk, he heard the front door open and then close and footsteps thundering up the stairs. A few seconds later, his father burst through the door, aiming a kick at Ichigo's head. Annoyed, Ichigo spun around, dodged the kick, and kicked his father across the room, where he hit the wall and slid down to the ground with a thud.

"That's right!" Isshin said as he scrambled to his feet. "Never let your guard down, not even in your own home!" Then he spotted the trunk and blinked. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I am." Ichigo said quietly.

Seeing the serious expression on his son's face, Isshin mellowed out and sat on the edge of the bed. "How long?" After Ichigo had returned from the Soul Society after Rukia's rescue, he had told his father everything after his father had recognized his deputy soul reaper badge. In return, his father had revealed that he knew all about soul reapers and their duties. Now he knew that when his son got this serious, it usually had something to do with Soul Society.

"A year." Ichigo replied as he closed his trunk.

Isshin looked at him in surprise. "That long?" he asked. "What's this mission about?"

Ichigo sat on the bed next to his father, with the trunk sitting between them. Quietly, he told his father the basics of the mission, ending with, "We'll be there for the whole school year, learning magic and just keeping an eye on Harry and the rest of the students until this Dementor business is over with. I'm not too worried about Black and Voldemort because they're human, but soul-eating, hollow-looking creatures are something completely different."

Isshin nodded. "I agree. I don't know what these people are thinking, trying to 'control' creatures like that. That headmaster has a right to be concerned for the safety of his students with those things stationed around his school." He paused before asking, "And what if this isn't resolved in a year? Then what?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to stay longer or something, I don't know for sure. But the best thing to do would be to not let that happen."

"When will you be leaving?" he asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Ichigo said.

"So soon?" Isshin asked in surprise.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, they want us to get a head start with protecting Potter because of Black. Although, I'm not sure what to say to the girls."

Before Isshin could respond, there was a click downstairs, followed by the slam of a door and a voice calling, "I'm home!" Isshin looked to Ichigo as they both stood up. "Hide the trunk."

Quickly, Ichigo grabbed the trunk and tossed it into his closet and shut the door as his little sister, Yuzu, came in. "There you are." She said. "What's going on?"

"Just having a man to man talk with Ichigo." Isshin said, grinning stupidly. "We'll talk later Ichigo. Maybe during dinner." He gave Ichigo a meaningful look before ushering Yuzu out of the room and shutting the door.

Ichigo sighed and laid down on his bed, arms crossed behind his head, as a yellowish orange stuffed lion jumped out from under his bed and up onto his bedside table. "A year-long mission?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah." Ichigo said solemnly. "And you're coming too, Kon."

Kon stared at him, wide-eyed, before breaking into an excited grin. "I am? Really? I'm going with you to England? To learn wizard magic? Sweet!"

"Don't forget we're on a mission, Kon." Ichigo said.

"Yeah, yeah." Kon said absent-mindedly. "Now what should I bring to Britain? Gotta impress the British girls. British girls!"

Ichigo sighed, tuning out Kon's rants, and processing everything he had been told. _A whole year?_ He thought as he stared up at his ceiling. _I can handle the summer, but a year? In a foreign country, no less. Everyone seems so excited; Rukia was practically vibrating when we left Toshiro's place. Renji too. And why shouldn't they be? We're going to a different country for a whole year, learning magic and stuff. So why not I? I just can't be excited about this. I wonder why._ Ichigo sighed and rolled over onto his side, facing the wall, as sleep started to creep behind his eyes. _Man, what a headache._

Ichigo woke with a start as something gently shook his shoulder. He rolled onto his back, bleary eyed, to see Karin, Yuzu's twin, starring down at him with her charcoal grey eyes. "Karin?" he asked groggily. He looked up out his window at the darkening sky. "What time is it?"

"It's almost six thirty." She answered. "Yuzu has been calling you for dinner for the past ten minutes."

Ichigo sat up and scratched his head. "Oh, sorry. I didn't expect to sleep this long. I guess I was more tired than I thought. I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." Karin turned and headed to the door. When she reached the doorway, she stopped and turned to him. "Where are you going?"

Ichigo paused as he started to stand and looked up at her, startled. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Karin pointed to the closed closet door. "Before I woke you, I heard a thump in your closet and when I opened it, I saw your suitcase. So, where are you going?"

Ichigo frowned at the ground. "I'll tell you guys at dinner."

Karin stared at him for a moment before nodding and heading out the door. Ichigo sat on his bed for another few minutes before standing up and heading downstairs.

"There you are, Ichigo." Yuzu said as Ichigo descended the stairs and took his seat at the table. "I was wondering what was taking you so long. If you're tired, I can always warm it up for you later. Or you can eat it tomorrow."

Ichigo shook his head, smiling kindly at his sister. "It's okay, Yuzu. I slept long enough already."

Yuzu shook her blonde head and smiled. "If you say so." She hopped off the stool in front of the stove and took her seat.

The family sat in an unusual silence for a few moments, Yuzu looking worriedly around the table, Karin eating silently as she stared at Ichigo through the black curtain of her hair, and Ichigo scowling into his food as he tried to think of how to start the conversation that he knew would upset his eleven year old sisters. Finally, Isshin cleared his throat and glanced around the table, eyes falling on Ichigo.

"Girls, Ichigo has something to tell us." He started. The three of them looked up at him, the girls curious about their dad's serious demeanor. "Before anyone says anything, let's give him a chance to speak, huh?"

Ichigo scowled deeper at his food, still unsure how to start. He set his rice bowl back on the table and looked up at Yuzu and Karin before speaking. "I'm going away for a while." He started softly. Yuzu started to speak but Isshin held up a hand. Ichigo continued. "I'm participating in a study abroad trip with a few of my classmates. Only a few of us out of the whole school were chosen to go; I'm one of them."

"Where?" Yuzu asked, clearly upset. "For how long? When are you leaving?"

Ichigo scowled back down at his rice. "It's in England. We leave tomorrow morning." He hesitated before adding. "And it's for a year."

"A year?" Yuzu shrieked. "Why a year? And why a different country? I don't understand. What could you need to study for that would make you leave the country that you can't study for here at home?"

"Yuzu, we should be happy for him." Isshin said soothingly. "After all, he was chosen out of his entire class. That's pretty special, right? And maybe he'll bring you something back from England. Wouldn't that be great?"

Yuzu frowned. "Not if that means he has to leave the country for a whole year. What if something happens? What if he gets hurt and ends up in the hospital? We'll never know. What if…"

"Don't worry." Ichigo said, looking up and grinning at her. "I'll be careful. You know me; I'm the toughest in my whole school. I'm even labeled as the toughest in town. It's going to take a lot to keep me down."

Yuzu sighed, still frowning. Then she sat up straight and pointed a small finger at him. "You better write every day. Every day that you don't write, I stop doing chores and I stop cooking when you get back. Is that clear?"

Ichigo chuckled at her attempt to threaten him. "Crystal clear, Your Highness." He said, mock saluting her.

She grinned back and resumed eating. "I'll help you pack after dinner."

"I already finished packing." Ichigo said.

Yuzu looked at him knowingly. "Did you pack properly? I doubt it. It'll check your suitcase after dinner and make sure you packed right."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and continued eating. He had to make sure his suitcase was open before she got to it, so it wouldn't shock her if she tried to open it herself. As he ate, he started to feel like there was something missing. It was as if something he was expecting to happen didn't. He thought about it for a moment and then he realized what it was and looked up at Karin. She hadn't said a word about his announcement, nor had she participated in the conversation at all.

He looked across the table to see her staring at him with suspiciously narrowed eyes, which she averted when he looked at her. She continued to eat in silence, not returning her gaze to him. Ichigo frowned in confusion. Why was she acting like that? Was she more upset about his leaving than he had expected? Why did she look like she didn't believe him? Did she? Ichigo's frown deepened as he continued to come up with more questions than answers.

Finally, dinner ended and he headed upstairs to his room to pull his trunk out of his closet. He set it on the bed and quickly opened it for Yuzu, who he knew would stay true to her word about checking it. With nothing to do until she came up after doing the dishes, Ichigo began pulling his clothes back out and placed them on his bed next to the trunk. He knew that the more she was able to do to help him pack, the better she would feel about his leaving.

As he waited for Yuzu, he began cursing the Soul Society again for sending him on this mission in the first place. He knew his sisters wouldn't like him leaving for so long but still. He didn't really want to leave them for so long either. What if a hollow attacked them while he was gone? And what about Karin? She's becoming more and more perceptive every day.

As if to prove it, there was a knock on his door and Karin came in. "Ichigo, can I talk to you?" she asked hesitantly.

"About what?" he asked cautiously.

Karin shut the door and sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his open trunk. She quietly ran a finger along the black metal. "This is nice." She murmured. She glanced at the pile of clothes on the bed next to the trunk and smiled slightly. "Giving Yuzu something to do?"

"Yeah." He replied, sitting in his desk chair and watching her wearily. What was wrong with her? She looks lost, like she doesn't know what to do. Is she really more upset than he thought?

They sat in silence for another moment, Ichigo watching Karin run her fingers over the smooth metal outlining his trunk. Finally she spoke, her gaze still on the trunk. "Where are you going?" she asked it.

"Huh?" Ichigo asked. "What do you mean? I told you I was going-"

"No." Karin interrupted, shaking her head. She glanced up at him and Ichigo was shocked to see the look she was giving him. Before, he thought she didn't believe him when he explained his 'trip' during dinner. Seeing her expression now, he **knew** she didn't believe him; there was no denying the intensity in her gaze. "I want to know where you're **really** going. I heard what you said during dinner and I believe that you are going to England and all that but I think it's more than what you said. No, I **know** it's more than that. I may be young, but I'm not stupid, Ichigo." She paused, taking a deep breath.

She glanced back down at the trunk and continued softly. "I've seen you. I've seen you around town, dressed in a black robe thing and carrying a huge sword. I've seen monsters all over the place and **you're** always there, fighting them. When I first saw you fighting them, I thought it was so cool. You were like a monster slayer or something. And your friend, Rukia. The girl we saw when we went to visit mom. She's not normal, is she? I've kept all of this quiet because I didn't want to scare Yuzu." She stopped and gazed up at him again, her eyes desperate and full of confusion and… was that fear? "What's going on, Ichigo? Your study abroad trip has something to do with this, doesn't it? Why are you really leaving? And don't lie to me, please."

Ichigo stared at her for a moment in stunned silence. He had no idea she knew so much. He didn't know what to say but one thing was certain: he couldn't let the Soul Society know that she knew. If the Soul Society found out how much she knew about them, there was no telling what they would do to her. Their rules were pretty strict, that much was obvious if the way they treated Rukia was anything to go by. He didn't want to tell her the truth; the less she knew about them, the safer she'd be. But he also knew that if he didn't tell her, she would try to find out on her own and he wouldn't be here to keep an eye on her and an eye out for her. Maybe if he told her the truth, he could warn her to keep quiet about it.

Finally, Ichigo sighed. "You're right. There is more to it, a lot more. But Karin, if I tell you, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about it. Not Yuzu, not your friends, nobody. We could both get in serious trouble if the wrong people found out how much you know."

Karin nodded. "I promise." She said.

Ichigo waited a moment before nodding back. "Okay. And you can tell dad; he already knows. Don't ask me why because I still don't know." He paused, trying to come up with a way to start.

Sensing his dilemma, Karin asked the first question. "Why do you dress in the black robe? And carry a sword and fight monsters?"

"Well, you know how I'm able to see ghosts and stuff, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, there are people called Soul Reapers, who are also able to see them. It's hard to explain Soul Reapers but basically they go around looking for ghosts so they can send them to a place called Soul Society. It's like a heaven for souls. There are some souls that turn evil and become monsters called Hollows. These are the monsters that you saw. They used to be regular people but once they turn into hollows, they're no longer the same person. Soul Reapers are also supposed to go around hunting them and destroying them. Except they don't exactly die; it's more like we destroy the evil that's in them. But if they were evil before they died, then they would end up going to hell after we get rid of the evil they did after they became hollows. With me so far?"

Karin nodded, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I think so. So, people die and become souls. Then they wait for the Soul Reapers to come and send them to the Soul Society. But they can also turn into hollows, the monsters, and then the Soul Reapers have to destroy the hollow in them before they can go to the Soul Society. But if they were evil before they died, then they would go to hell. But what **are** Soul Reapers? Are they ghosts too?"

"Sort of." Ichigo said. "It's hard to explain what Soul Reapers are but they're not alive. Rukia is a Soul Reaper. The person you see is not really her. It's like she's wearing a suit that looks just like her. It's called a gigai, like a fake body."

"What about you?" she asked. "You're not dead. How are you a Soul Reaper?"

"I'm called a Deputy Soul Reaper." He said. "A substitute. I'm a temporary Soul Reaper, I guess you can say. And no, I'm not dead. This part is complicated and I'm not entirely sure I understand it myself."

"Okay, so then what's this trip of yours really about?" she asked.

"It's a mission." He explained. "There's a school called Hogwarts. It's a wizard school. And the students there are in danger from three different threats. One is a man named Voldemort. He was supposed to die about thirteen years ago but for some reason, he didn't. A kid named Harry Potter, he stopped him somehow, which is strange because he was only a year old when that happened. No one knows why or how but because of this, Voldemort, who is somehow still alive, is now focusing on killing Harry. So part of our job is to protect him.

The other threat is a man named Sirius Black. He was said to be Voldemort's right hand man and when Voldemort disappeared, Black was arrested and sent to their prison, which is a really bad place to be in, even for criminals. Yet he somehow broke out of prison, which was supposed to be impossible and everyone thinks he's after Harry Potter as well.

The third threat, and possibly the most dangerous, are creatures called Dementors. The prison that Black was sent to was guarded by these creatures. You know what hollows do?"

"They attack people." Karin said.

"Kind of." Ichigo nodded. "They eat souls. A soul that is eaten is gone forever. They can't go to either heaven or hell. They're completely gone. Forever. And these Dementors are just like hollows. They eat souls as well. The only difference is that they are currently being controlled by the wizards. I don't know what they're thinking but they're trying to control them and use them as guards for their prison.

Dementors have a special ability that hollows don't; when you get too close to a Dementor, whether or not they're going after you, they suck out your energy and every happy thought from your body and mind. They make you feel cold and like you'll never be happy again. That's how they keep prisoners from escaping. But Black was somehow able to escape. And since people think he's going after Potter, their ministry is posting these Dementors around the school, once the school year starts.

Those are our jobs: protect Harry Potter from Voldemort and Sirius Black, and protect the entire school from the Dementors."

"That's why you're leaving for a whole year." Karin concluded.

Ichigo and Karin lapsed into silence. Suddenly they both jumped as a knock sounded at the door. "Ichigo? Karin?" Yuzu called.

Ichigo gave Karin a look and turned to the door. "Come in." he called.

Yuzu opened the door and entered. "What are you guys doing in here? You guys are so quiet."

"I was telling Ichigo that you were going to throw a fit when you see his idea of packing." Karin said, pointing to the pile of clothes next to the trunk.

Yuzu stared at the pile for a moment and then turned to Ichigo, her hands on her hips. "See, I told you you couldn't pack right. None of that is even folded. Why do I do the laundry if you're just going to ruin them by shoving them in there like that?"

Ichigo mock glared at Karin as Yuzu scolded him. Karin smiled back and left the room, her head swimming with all of the new information she had learned. One thing was certain; this subject was so much more interesting than what they learned in school. Maybe she could convince her history teacher to teach this instead. Yeah, like that would ever happen.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, first I just want to say that the part about Ichigo and his dad and Karin and all that, I know it's not that way in the actual series but that is why it is called fanfiction. There will be a few detail changes but not to worry; there will be nothing drastically changed that will cause a world wide confusion or anything like that. Promise. And if there is later, I will let you know in advance unless I don't feel that it's that big a deal. Hope you enjoyed reading. Don't forget to review!**


	5. To England

**A/N: Chapter five is finally here. And the Soul Reapers are finally going to England. Now our story kicks off. There will be a big change coming up from the original version of Harry Potter but it will work out okay in the end. I think it might be next chapter or something. If, at any moment, there are questions, suggestions, or useful critique, please feel free to let me know. All will be appreciated. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Bleach, or either of their characters. They all belong to their respective owners. I don't think I would want to either. Think of all the work and high expectations I would have to meet. Ugh! Can someone say 'Nervous Breakdown'?**

**Warning! I will be out of town for a week and so I will be unable to post the sixth chapter on Monday. I apologize greatly but there is nothing I can do. I will write out chapter six on a notebook and when I get back to my computer, I'll type it out and post it as soon as I can. Sorry!**

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* * *

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**Chapter Five: To England**

After Yuzu deemed his trunk properly packed and left to her own room, Ichigo pulled out his cell phone and dialed Orihime's number. When she answered, he asked her to meet him at the park in ten minutes. Then he called Chad and Uryu and repeated the request. After he hung up, he grabbed his jacket and headed down the stairs and out the front door. He headed down the street to the park, thinking of what he wanted to say to his friends when he got to the park. He had decided to tell them the truth and was planning on sending information to them in case he and his team needed outside theories on any problems they came across. He was going to send them letters asking for advice whenever he could. They were his friends and part of his team. He knew they would go with him if they could and he knew they had his back, even if Uryu didn't admit it.

Finally he reached the park and stopped at a swing set, sitting down on one of the swings and waiting.

"Ichigo!" Ichigo looked up to see a busty orange haired girl running toward him, waving happily. She stopped in front of him. "Hey, Ichigo."

"Hey, Orihime." He greeted.

"What's this about?" said a voice behind Ichigo. He turned to see a boy in a white and blue outfit, his glasses shining with the light of the moon. His dark hair blended with the shadows of the night, making him seem more mysterious.

"Uryu." Ichigo nodded. Then he added. "And Chad."

A tall Hispanic boy walked up from behind Orihime and stopped next to her, his messy brown hair falling over his eyes as he nodded in greeting. "Ichigo."

"What's happening, Ichigo?" Orihime asked, glancing at him nervously. "Is it Rukia again?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No, it's not. Actually, I called you guys here because I wanted to let you guys know that I'm going away for a year."

There was stunned silence for a moment, and then a sudden outburst from Orihime, followed by surprised grunts and stares from Uryu and Chad. "A year? Why? What happened? Is it the Soul Society? What did they do? Did they say you have to leave? Did they threaten you? What-?"

"Orihime, relax." Ichigo said, surprised by her outburst. It was the biggest outburst he had received so far tonight. "It's for a mission concerning some things in England. I don't want to go, but I'm a Soul Reaper, in a sense, and so, I have to go if the old geezer says so. And it's for a whole year because what we're supposed to protect is going to take place throughout the year."

"And what exactly are you supposed to protect?" Uryu asked.

Ichigo quickly explained the details of the mission. His friends listened in silence, absorbing as much information as they could. When he finished, he waited while they processed this. Then he spoke again. "Our mission starts immediately. We leave for Urahara's shop tomorrow morning at eleven and then somehow get to England."

"I'm coming, too." Orihime said. Chad nodded in agreement, his arms crossed over his chest in a stubborn manner.

Ichigo shook his head. "No, I need you guys to stay here. I'm going to be sending messages to you guys over the year, getting your thoughts on whatever needs fresh thinking and any other outside help."

"We're a team, Ichigo." Chad said. "You go, we go."

"Right." Orihime said.

"You can't." Ichigo said. "It's a whole year. You can't go for a whole year. What about school and stuff. People will get suspicious. And besides, Soul Society won't allow it."

"Then we'll just have to go in a way that Soul Society will have no say." Uryu replied. Deep down, he knew that he shouldn't go with them. He was a Quincy after all. And Quincy didn't travel with Soul Reapers any more than they fought with them. But the thought of studying western magic was a great opportunity he wasn't about to pass up.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

Uryu shrugged. "You'll see. And don't worry about us. We'll be just fine with coming up with an excuse for leaving. I believe you said something about studying abroad?" Orihime and Chad smiled as they caught on to what he meant.

Ichigo grinned. "Yeah, I did. And I said that a 'select few' were selected from our school."

"And where exactly is this trip supposed to take place?" Uryu asked slyly.

"London, England." Ichigo replied. "I believe there is a place around there that we're supposed to go to."

Uryu nodded with a smirk. "Then that's where we'll go. In the mean time, you should probably get home. I believe you have to get up early tomorrow?"

Ichigo nodded and stood up, stretching as he did so. "Yep." He started walking away from them but stopped near the edge of the park and looked back at them. "Remember, Soul Society didn't ask for your participation in this mission. But if you guy are planning a summer vacation, you should try a different country. I heard England is nice this time of year."

"We'll hit you up on that." Uryu responded as he shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Ichigo smirked and headed home, thinking that that had gone smoother than he had expected. He just hoped Soul Society didn't try to stop them. He really could use their help. And he knew he'd miss his friends during the year he was gone. As he headed home, he cursed Soul Society again for sending him on this mission. _Couldn't they at least make me go for just the summer? Why a whole dang year? Are they that desperate to get rid of me? Stupid Soul Society. Stupid captains. Stupid old geezer. Stupid wizards, with their dark wizards, and evil spells, and freak creatures, and boarding schools and everything else that's wrong because of them._

* * *

Ichigo woke at ten o' clock the next morning, once again grumbling about a wasted summer. He angrily slammed his hand down on the alarm clock, smashing it into chunks of metal by accident. Then he got out of bed and grabbed a towel and his bag of toiletries and headed to the bathroom for a shower. He returned fifteen minutes later, his towel hanging loosely around his hips, and began pulling on his boxers and then his jeans. As he was reaching for his shirt, there was a knock on his window and then it slid open and Rukia jumped in.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Ichigo demanded, not bothering to be quiet. He had heard Yuzu in the kitchen with their father, so he knew the rest of the house was awake. He quickly grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. "And why don't you ever use the door? It's there for a reason, you know."

"Because this is the quickest way to your room." She answered. She jumped from his window to his bed and sat down on the end. "So what did you say to your family?"

Ichigo avoided her eyes. "Dad I told the truth. And I told the whole family I was going on a study abroad trip during dinner and that I would be gone for a whole year."

"But…" she pressed. She knew him well enough that she could tell when there was something he wasn't saying.

Ichigo looked up at the window, and then back down to Rukia. "Is anyone else out there?"

Rukia looked at him in surprise. "No. Everyone else is doing some last minute checks before they head to Urahara's. I already took my stuff to his place and got my gigai. So I decided to come and see if you needed help with anything. Why?"

Ichigo reached past her and shut the window. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone or do anything that the Soul Society would want you to do?"

Rukia narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why?"

"Just promise me." Ichigo gave her a hard look. He didn't want to have to resort to this but he needed help with this. "You said you wanted to repay me for saving you. If you help me with this, I'll consider your debt repaid."

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, and then nodded. "Okay I promise. I won't tell or do anything that Soul Society would want me to."

Ichigo nodded before telling her. "Karin knows."

"Knows what?" Rukia asked in confusion.

"About us, you, Soul Society, Soul Reapers, Hollows, everything." Ichigo clarified.

Rukia gasped. "How?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't know. She said she could see them the same way I could. Not as clearly but she can see them. She knows you're not human and she's seen me in my Soul Reaper clothes. It won't matter if we erase her memories or anything because it won't stop her from seeing them again. And I'm not turning her over to the people that tried to kill you for letting me save my family. I told her the rest of it."

"Why would you do that?" Rukia demanded. "The less she knows, the better off she'll be."

"I know but she confronted me." Ichigo explained. "If I had brushed her off and lied to her, she would have tried to figure it out on her own and I wouldn't be here to protect her if Soul Society found out or keep her from finding out too much. But I promised I would tell her the truth and in exchange, she has to keep quiet about it and stay out of trouble because if the wrong people knew, we'd both be in trouble."

Rukia nodded. "You're right, you would be."

Ichigo glanced at his watch on his desk as he pulled on his socks. "We've got about a half hour before we've got to be at Urahara's. Yuzu said she wanted to make a big breakfast before I left. You coming?"

Rukia shook her head. "No, I have things I have to do really quick. I'll meet you at Urahara's."

"Alright." Rukia turned and left out the window she had come through. Ichigo rolled his eyes and grabbed his trunk from the foot of the bed and placed it on top of his messy sheets. He quickly opened his trunk and placed his toiletries inside. Then he closed it and turned to head out to the kitchen.

"Wait, Ichigo." Kon said, crawling out from under the bed. He pulled out a small notebook and a bundle of pens. "I need to put these in your trunk."

"Just leave them on the bed. I'll put them away later." He answered and went down for breakfast.

* * *

Harry knelt in the grass in front of his house, de-weeding Aunt Petunia's garden, when he heard the sound of a vehicle screeching down the street. He quickly turned on his knees, knowing he'll most likely end up with grass stains, and peered down the street to see a large black truck barreling down, dangerously swerving from lane to lane as if the driver didn't know which lane to use or didn't care. Harry watched with wide eyes as the large truck turned, teetered on two wheels and almost tipping over, before it pulled into the drive way of the empty house, pulling up half onto the lawn and nearly killing the garage. The left behind garden gnome lay crushed to powder under one of the front tires.

Interest piqued, Harry glanced up into the living room window to see his aunt, uncle and cousin watching TV, seemingly unaware of what had just occurred, and then he crawled through the grass until he was against the low wall surrounding their house. Cautiously he peered over the wall to watch as a tall man with pale skin and long _**white**_ hair got out of the passenger side of the truck, seemingly unfazed by the truck driver's wild driving. He wore a black leather jacket with an odd symbol over the entire back and black pants and dress shoes; all of the black making him seem even paler. Harry glanced at the driver's side as the door opened and his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets at the sight of the other man.

The driver was huge, almost as tall as Hagrid and built like a tank. When he turned to the side to speak to the white haired man, Harry, with his keen eyes that had gotten him a spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, noticed a massive scar on the left side of his face, traveling from his hair line down to his chin. He also had a strange eye patch over his right eye **and his hair!** It was massive; spiked up into eleven sharp looking points, each topped with a tiny bell and making him seem incredibly sinister. He was wearing a massive black leather jacket with another strange symbol on the back, slightly different from the white haired man's and baggy black pants and shiny black boots. But what surprised Harry the most was what he saw hanging off of the man's right arm.

A tiny little girl with pink hair sat on his shoulder, dressed in a plain black dress, almost like Harry's wizards robe, and seemed to be at ease on the man's shoulder. Harry noticed a small arm band around the girl's upper right arm and when the large man turned to the side, Harry could see that the arm band had the same symbol as the jacket of the man she was hanging off of.

Instead of feeling weary and terrified, Harry grinned at the sight of these three people. If they were the people who were interested in that house, then no doubt Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would throw a fit big enough to impress the Queen. Smirking to himself, Harry watched as the men spoke to each other before the white haired man started rummaging through the pockets of his jacket and pants before pulling out, what looked to be, a key ring with a single key on it. The man held the key up for the larger man to see, a small kind smile spread along the pale face, before he turned and headed up to the front door. The larger man started to follow but stopped before he was completely out of eye sight, turned, locked eyes with Harry, and gave him the most bone chilling grin Harry had ever seen, revealing two whole rows of very sharp canines. Harry felt his blood run cold and he had a feeling that he looked as pale as the white haired man. Harry couldn't move. He felt as though he were a deer caught in headlights, too afraid to even breathe. He could feel the blood rushing through his veins and hear his heart pounding a mile a minute as he stared into the man's wild eyes.

Finally, Harry was released from that piercing stare as the man seemed to have been called by the white haired man and he turned and went into the house, and the little girl turned her head and winked at Harry before turning back around and laughing as she patted the large man on the shoulder. Harry blinked several times, shuddering as he felt his heartbeat return to normal and his body heat re-warmed his freezing body. He had never felt anything like that in his entire life, not even when he had come face to face with Voldemort for the first time. The man's eyes weren't like Professor Snape's, whose eyes were cold and could make you feel as though you were staring down a black hole, knowing that something evil was on it's way and yet not being able to move or stop it. This man felt more like he was ready to fight and not willing to hold anything back. Like he relished the thrill of battle.

"Boy, what are you doing?" shouted a voice behind him. Harry jumped and turned around to see Uncle Vernon standing on the porch and glaring at Harry.

Thinking rapidly, Harry said the first thing that came to mind that he knew would distract his uncle from his grass stained pants and whatever foolishness he would think Harry was doing. "There are people moving into the house." He said, pointing to the house he had been watching.

As he had expected, his uncle looked up at the large truck half on the lawn and his eyes narrowed. "Blasted freaks, thinking they can come to a respected neighborhood and ruin it with their freakishness?"

"It was the man with white hair, Uncle Vernon." Harry said. "Except he had someone else with him. You should have seen him. He was huge and crazy looking, almost insane. His hair was spiky and had little bells on the tips. I'm betting that if you had seen him, you would have thought he was worse than me and the white haired guy put together."

Again, as he had expected, Uncle Vernon paled and beckoned Harry to him, never taking his eyes off the other house. "Get inside, boy. Go to your room."

Harry hurried into the house, resisting the urge to snicker when he saw the terrified look on his uncle's face. He hadn't seen him look like that since Hagrid first showed up to tell Harry he was a wizard. Harry rushed passed his aunt and cousin, both looking confused, and headed up the stairs to his room, where he closed the door, flopped onto his bed and gazed at the ceiling, his arms crossed behind his head. He wondered who these people were and if they were bringing anyone else with them. It was great that they were so unusual that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia wouldn't let Dudley anywhere near that house, possibly not even allow him on that side of the street, but they didn't seem to have any kids his age. That girl looked way too young to even be allowed across the street on her own. Maybe he'll wait a few more days, until the family had completely settled in before he tried to estimate how many people were staying. Hopefully there was at least one person there that could save him from a terrible summer. Just this once.

* * *

Ichigo leaned against the wall outside Urahara's shop wearing light blue jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt with the number 88 over the left breast and an open black sweater with a grey hood and sleeves. The other Soul Reapers were currently inside retrieving their gigais from the annoying shop keeper while Ichigo looked through his trunk, making sure he had everything that would be needed. He had waited to pack any Soul Reaper stuff until he was just about to leave the house, in case Yuzu decided to do a last minute check. He seemed to have everything, so he closed his trunk and glanced up as Rukia emerged with Renji. Both of them were dressed in as normal of human clothing as possible; Rukia wore a plain shin-length, short-sleeved white dress with a light blue half shirt on top, the ends tied in a knot just below her breasts and a light blue design across the hem of her dress that, when Ichigo took a closer look, turned out to be her Division's symbol and number in Japanese; Renji wore black jeans and a black short sleeved shirt with longer white sleeves underneath and his signature white headband covering the majority of the intricate black tattoos etched across his forehead from temple to temple. His shirt also had his Division's symbol etched in white over his left breast and his number across his back.

"Where'd you get the clothes?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow. He had a feeling the local clothing shops didn't put Soul Society symbols on their clothing.

Rukia looked down at herself and then back up at Ichigo with a shrug. "Rangiku took it upon herself to custom-make our clothes. She said she will not be traveling with fashion criminals in a new country."

"She's planning on etching our Division's symbol and number on all of the clothes we'll be buying in London." Renji added. "As well as our school uniforms, even though I don't think it'll be allowed but Captain Hitsugaya said that whether or not it's allowed won't stop her from doing it."

Before any of them could say anything more, Kon jumped out of Ichigo's pocket and tried to latch himself onto Rukia. "Rukia looks great in anything!" he cried. Rukia absent mindedly back handed Kon, sending him flying into the wall of the shop with a soft _sqush_.

"Idiot." Renji scoffed, glaring at the living stuffed lion in annoyance.

"Whatever. Are we done yet?" Ichigo asked in a bored tone.

"Just about." The three of them turned as Toshiro, Rangiku, and Urahara came out of the shop, Urahara's helpers trailing behind him as usual. Toshiro was dressed in black jeans with a silver-grey belt and a dark blue polo shirt under a black leather jacket, the symbol of his Division sewn in white over the left breast pocket and his Division number written in Japanese across the back; Rangiku wore a tight, short-sleeved hot pink shirt with a low V-neck that revealed the top of her large breasts and the silver necklace trailing down her chest, and wore light blue jean shorts with a stylish black belt. Her Division's symbol, which was the same as Toshiro's since she was his Lieutenant, was etched onto both front pockets of her shorts and her Division's number etched onto her back pockets. Toshiro crossed his arms over his chest and nodded towards Urahara. "We still need a few things."

Urahara pulled a small box from his sleeve and opened it before showing them the contents. Inside was a row of small silver rings, each one a different size and etched with a picture like the one on their trunk. "These," he said. "are the translators you will be wearing while you are in England. I just decided to be creative with etching the pictures like Captain Kurotsuchi. Whichever has your picture is your ring and has been sized to fit your middle finger only. We wouldn't want you accidently proclaiming to the English population that two of you are married because you put your rings on the wrong finger, now would we?" Ichigo and Renji glanced at each other and shuddered. "While you wear these, you can still speak Japanese to each other if you wanted but you can also understand what the gaijin's are saying as well. Whereas if you were to take it off, you would have no idea what someone is saying _to_ you or _about_ you."

"Why rings?" Renji asked, looking oddly at the row of silver bands.

"Well, would you rather go with the filling that surgically goes into your teeth?" Urahara asked pleasantly. "Because if you would, I believe Tessai has some experience with drilling." The tall mocha-skinned man with rectangular eyeglasses and a permanent frown, Tessai, pulled a painful-looking drill from inside his shop apron, surgical gloves already covering his hands.

Renji shook his head nervously. "No thanks. I'll take the ring."

Everyone grabbed their ring and placed it on their middle finger before looking back at Urahara. "I've also got these for you guys. But don't let anyone else use them or see you using them recklessly; we wouldn't want to cause a panic with the muggles or attract any unwanted attention from the wizarding population." He said, pulling out several small black silk sacks, small enough to put in their pockets, and handed one to each of them. They loosened the drawstring and opened their sacks curiously, pulling out a small handful of odd looking paper and coins.

"Is this what wizard money is?" Renji asked, eyeing the paper suspiciously.

"No, this is British money." Urahara answered. "These sacks have been made so that you never run out of money. It's a trick that Head-Captain learned some how and used it on these sacks. He's the one who had Captain Kurotsuchi make them. How they work is that when you want to buy something, you just think about how much you want to pull out and then reach into the sack and pull out that amount. But like I said, don't be using these recklessly. If you pull out enough money to buy a house, for example, you will no doubt attract unwanted attention. Also, these sacks are able to give out other types of currency as well. Japanese yen, American dollars, Mexican pesos, whatever type of currency you need; you just have to put some in beforehand so the sacks will have an idea which currency you want. For example, right now you have British currency in your bags that Soul Society personally put in each of them. Now, whenever you want to buy something in Britain, it will _know_ the right currency. But if you suddenly want to use a currency the sack isn't familiar with, a.k.a. wizard currency, you must first place some of the unknown currency in the sack, then it will become familiar with the currency and "keep it to memory" so to speak, in case you need to switch between British money and wizard money or whatever other type of money you decide to put in there. The money won't ever seem fake or counterfeit; however, there is one drawback. These have been specifically instructed to 'run out' at the end of your mission. So if you lose it sometime between leaving England and returning to Japan, it won't matter because by then it will just be an empty sack."

"Thank you." Toshiro said with a bow. "We appreciate your help and your useful items."

"Don't worry; Head-Captain will get the bill in a few days." Urahara said. Toshiro smirked. _Serves him right for sending me on this stupid mission in the first place._

"Well, now that that's taken care of, is everyone ready?" Urahara asked.

"How are we getting there?" Ichigo asked. "I'm assuming we're not taking a plane."

"Nope. I'm going to open a gate for you guys that will take you directly to an alley in London." Urahara said cheerily. "Captain Ukitake will pick you up there and drive you to your new home."

"Drive?" Rukia asked, sharing surprised looks with Renji and Rangiku. "I didn't know Captain Ukitake knew how to drive a human vehicle."

"Why, yes. He can." Urahara said. "Or at least I think he can. I'm assuming he's better than Kenpachi. I heard he ran over several different hedges and maimed dozens of lawns before they made it to the house to move in the furniture, and I think there was something about a murdered garden gnome. But Captain Ukitake should be at least a little safer."

The group gave each other shocked and relieved looks, except Toshiro who looked bored, and then back at Urahara. "We're ready." Toshiro said, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Let's get going."

Urahara nodded. "Right. And don't worry about getting your school supplies. In about two or three weeks, a message will be sent to you via owl with instructions on what to do about getting your supplies. When you go to get your school books, get the book for the grade lower as well. You'll need to read and practice everything over the summer that you will need to know when you get to the school. The house has been worked on by Captain Ukitake and Kenpachi so that anyone in the house can use magic. British wizards forbid underage magic but they can't detect it in that house. Understood?" When everyone nodded, Urahara turned and he and his helpers quickly set up the exterior of the gate, making it look more like a door than a gate. Urahara said a small, incoherent incantation and the gate began to glow white before going clear. The other side of the doorway showed a dark isolated alleyway, hidden behind several large dumpsters. Urahara turned back to the group and waved them forward with a small fan that he pulled out of his sleeve. "Off you go."

Toshiro stepped up first and walked right through as if it was the most normal thing in the world. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he disappeared for a split second before reappearing in the alley. After Toshiro had gone, the others quickly followed suit before only Ichigo was left. Before he could go through, Urahara stopped him. "Your friends won't be able to go through this way. They're going to have to go the normal way, and by that I mean by plane." Ichigo stared at him, surprised that he had known about his friends' plan to follow him. Urahara turned to the side of his shop and spoke up. "You hear that? You're going to have to go by plane because this won't work for you."

Ichigo turned to see Orihime, Chad, and Uryu step out from around the shop, the three of them weighed down with duffle bags and back packs and nap sacks, Orihime seeming a bit sheepish at being caught. "I've put together some of my money with some of Chad's and Uryu's and we came up with a little less than half of what it would cost for three one way tickets to England. We'll figure something out for the rest and for the plane ride home."

Ichigo glanced at the gate, seeing his group watching him expectantly, before walking out of view to where his friends were and pulled his money sack out of his pocket. "Here." He said, handing Orihime a large wad of Japanese money. "This should cover the plane ticket to England. I'll send you guys more money for the plane home before the mission ends." Then he turned and headed through the gate.

"Well that was certainly a waste of money." Urahara said in amusement. He pulled out three sacks identical to the ones he had given the Soul Reapers and handed them to Orihime, Uryu and Chad. "I was going to give these to you guys anyways. Oh well. Now let me explain how these work…"

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Interesting enough? Hope so. Sorry if the ending didn't stand well. I wrote that part around two in the morning. Sorry if the whole thing with the money sacks was confusing. It didn't come as easily as the rest of it but it will have to do because I need to go to bed.**

**Sleep… it calls to me.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	6. Welcome To Pleasantville

**A/N: Here's chapter six, but just to let you guys know, the rest of the chapters may not be posted on the set days that I mentioned. I'm having trouble with my computer right now, so I'll only be able to type when it lets me. And I don't like using other computers because this one is where I have all of my documents saved. So yeah, it may take a while. I'm working on chapter seven right now and I will write it on paper first and type it when I can. That way I don't lose the ideas I have and such.**

**Hope you guys get the reference between this chapter's title and the movie called 'Pleasantville' when you read about Privet Drive. Lol If you've never heard of the movie "Pleasantville" consider yourselves lucky. My mom made me watch it with her. BOOORING!**

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**Chapter Six: Welcome to Pleasantville**

Ichigo gazed around at the alleyway he and his group were in, his nose wrinkling in disgust at the smells of rotting garbage and sewage radiating from the dumpsters. The alley was dark and damp, even though it was obviously day time, if the light blue blanket above the alley was anything to go by. Neither of the buildings surrounding them had windows facing the alley and graffiti decorated the single door a little ways down the alley, heading away from the mouth and the pedestrians leisurely passing by.

"I don't like this place." Rangiku complained, placing her hand in front of her nose. "It smells. If this is how all of London smells, than I won't like it here at all."

"Well, I'm no scientist but I think the smell is coming from the dumpsters surrounding us." Ichigo said sarcastically. "Unless there are dumpsters scattered around town at random, I don't think it'll smell this bad unless their entire sewer system is jacked up."

"Ew." Rangiku said disgustedly. "Humans get more and more disgusting as time progresses."

Before anyone could respond, two large spots of white light emerged from the back of the alley, followed by a loud roar as a large black truck headed towards them, occasionally scraping against the sides of the buildings and making the unbearable metal against metal sounds. The five Soul Reapers subconsciously moved their hands down to their waists, clutching for their Zanpaktou and realizing that they had put them in their trunks in order to keep suspicion off of themselves. Rukia, being almost an expert in kido, stepped forward and prepared for her first attack.

"Wait!" Toshiro called, throwing an arm out in front of Rukia to stop her. The five of them watched as the truck slowed to a stop in front of them, the dark windshield hiding the driver from view. The driver's side door opened and a single black shoe stepped out of the truck and onto the silver metal step nearly a foot above the ground, followed by a second shoe. A pale hand reached out and placed itself on the top edge of the door as the shoes leaped to the ground, followed closely by a soft "_oof!_" and then a tall white haired man with pale skin and a kind face emerged from behind the door, a gentle smile placed on his face. "Captain Ukitake." Toshiro greeted.

"Well, hello there, Toshiro, Rangiku, Renji, Rukia." He turned to Ichigo. "And you must be Ichigo Kurosaki; Rukia has told me much about you. You're somewhat of a nuisance, right? Or did she say novice?"

Ichigo glared at Rukia, who seemed to be quite pleased with her sum up of Ichigo. Ukitake laughed well naturedly. "Well, now, let's see. You can place your trunks in the back and climb on in. Kenpachi found this gentle giant in a used car lot and effectively _persuaded_ the dealer to part with it at a reasonably discounted price." Ukitake patted the truck while the non-captain soul reapers gave each other knowing looks. "So, let's climb aboard and I'll drive you all to your new home. I'm not a very good driver I'm afraid, but I must say I'm a bit better than Kenpachi was."

"A bit?" Ichigo asked as he and the others tossed their trunks into the bed of the truck and attempted to climb into the seats behind the driver and passenger seats.

Ukitake chuckled as he pulled himself into the driver's seat. "Let's just say it's a good thing there weren't many people on the street I came down before getting here."

"Toshiro, let me sit up front." Rangiku whined.

"It's _Captain Hitsugaya_." Toshiro snapped, climbing up into the passenger seat and crossing his arms over his chest. "And no. I'm not sitting in the back with those three." He said, jerking his thumb back towards Ichigo, Renji and Rukia, all of whom were currently arguing over who sits in the middle.

"But four full grown teenagers won't fit back here." Rangiku pouted. Toshiro glared at her comment, knowing full well what she was getting at. Suddenly she had an idea. "I know; I'll sit with you."

And before Toshiro could protest, he was shoved into the middle of the front seats and nearly into Ukitake's lap, as Rangiku leaped into the passenger seat beside him. "Matsumoto." He growled as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Well, you only take up half a seat anyways." Rangiku said. Then she closed the door and pulled the seat belt over her shoulder and snapped it in around herself and Toshiro, making the young captain growl again. "Now we have three in front and three in back."

"So are we all ready?" Ukitake asked cheerfully.

"Ready." Rangiku replied. Toshiro just grunted, his arms across his chest almost in a pouting gesture.

"Ready." Echoed Renji. He and Ichigo had convinced Rukia to sit in the middle since she was the smallest and reasonably the best person for the middle because she wouldn't block Ukitake's view of the rear-view mirror. Since she was all about reasoning, Rukia had been unable to come up with a counter-complaint before they had strapped themselves in on either side of her, forcing her to take the middle.

Ukitake pulled out of the alley and onto the main road, carefully driving down the street while he tried to remember which way to go to get back to the house. As he passed a small, shabby-looking bookstore and a shabby-looking record store, Ukitake slowed to a stop and pointed to a dark, empty-looking shop nestled tightly in between, the windows covered with dust and dirt and giving the place a desolate appearance. "That is a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. It's a pub and Inn created for the wizarding population; no Muggles are able to see it and none of them even realize that it's there; all they see is a record store and a bookstore. The Leaky Cauldron is where you guys will stay the last couple weeks before school. From here you will take a taxi to King's Cross Station. Your train, the Hogwarts Express, leaves at eleven o'clock, so make sure you're through the barrier and on the train before it leaves."

"And how do we get on the train?" Rangiku asked. "I read through Toshiro's notes-"

"Hitsugaya." Toshiro snapped.

"-and it says that there is a barrier that only wizards can get through." Rangiku said, ignoring Toshiro's remark. "So how do we get through it?"

"I'm surprised you actually _read_ something." Renji said teasingly.

Toshiro smirked and Rangiku frowned at him but Ukitake spoke first, cutting off the likely argument that was sure to start by the comment and the young captain's reaction. "The barrier is pretty easy to get through if you know where to look. You five should be able to get through with little to no problem. Just walk up to the barrier, best to go one at a time so you don't cause suspicions when you disappear at random, and just walk through. That's about it but I suppose I could tell you that you should probably go at a bit of a run if you're nervous; it does look like you're walking directly into a solid brick wall, after all."

"What's the train's platform number?" Ichigo asked from behind Ukitake.

"Nine and three quarters." Ukitake said. He looked in the rear-view mirror at the startled reactions he knew they would get at the peculiar number, and chuckled. "Yes, I know it seems a bit strange to say platform nine and three quarters. I suppose they just like to be unique."

"Or difficult." Renji said. "Why do these people have to make everything so complicated? They have all this magic stuff and yet they make everything so complicated, it's practically considered stupid."

"I agree… with whatever Renji just tried to say." Rukia said. "They have the power to make things simpler for themselves and yet they make it worse. Why?"

"I don't really care why they do what they do." Toshiro said. "Let them. I just want to know where we're supposed to get our supplies."

"Yeah, I want to try out a wand." Rangiku said. "I wonder if I can create sake with a wand. I could have all the sake in the world!"

"I thought I told you no sake for a month because you never did your paperwork when I told you to." Toshiro reminded her.

"Aw, but Toshiro." She whined.

"_Captain Hitsugaya!_" he snapped.

"Well," Ukitake said, stopping the argument before it started. "This is where you will be getting your supplies." He pointed back to the Leaky Cauldron. "You come here in about two weeks and there's a, sort of, back yard you go to that ends in a brick wall. All you have to do is go there and have someone open the gate for you. You'll need a wand to open it yourselves but for now you'll just need to ask someone, probably the innkeeper. There's a whole other town back there called Diagon Alley. It's almost like a wizarding version of the street you see now; it's full of wizard shops and items and animals and who knows what else. I'm afraid I don't know much about it; all I know is what I learned based on what Captain-General Yamamoto told me."

"That's fine." Toshiro said. "We can just see for ourselves when the time comes. And if we need to, we can ask the innkeeper when we get here."

Ukitake nodded in agreement and pulled away from the shops and back into traffic. "Right. Well, how it will go is that in about two weeks you will all take a taxi from your home to the Leaky Cauldron. There, you will go into Diagon Alley and first go into Gringotts, the wizard bank. There you will go up to one of the goblins, yes goblins, and give them this." He handed Toshiro a small, silver key with the handle shaped like that of a sword's hilt. "It's the key to vault 728; Head-Captain Yamamoto's vault. It's highly protected for reasons known only to the Head-Captain; in order to access it, you will need that key, a signed permission slip from Head-Captain himself, which I'm assuming you have, Toshiro?" Toshiro nodded. "And you will need one of the goblins to open it themselves. From what I heard, if anyone else tries to open a vault that's not theirs other than a goblin, something unpleasant is supposed to happen. Don't try."

"Why would we?" Rukia asked. "We're supposed to be the good guys. Stealing is not a good guy asset." Renji rolled his eyes behind her to Ichigo, who mimicked his action.

"After you get to the vault, just put a small handful of each coin into your money sacks." Ukitake continued to instruct. "You don't need much for your sacks to get familiar with the wizarding money. There are three types of coins for wizarding money and I'm not familiar with how it works but basically there is a coin called a Galleon, a coin called a Sickle, and a coin called a Knut. I believe Galleons are gold and are worth more and Sickles are silver and sort of like the middle coin, and a Knut is bronze and sort of like the most common and worth the least."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out." Toshiro said.

"Yes, I'm sure you will." Ukitake said. Ukitake pulled off the main road and drove down another street, passing a large park with a small play area near the other end of the grassy field, and then another street similar to the first but without the park.

Toshiro glanced passed Rangiku and out the window, trying to memorize which way led where and noted a street sign that said **Magnolia Road** with a cross sign that read **Magnolia Crescent**, which they passed, before they turned at another cross street called **Wisteria Walk** and finally down a final street called **Privet Drive**. What surprised Toshiro, and the rest of the Soul Reapers except Ukitake, was that every house on each street was eerily similar; each one was a large similar square-shaped house about 36x18 yards in diameter and each one surrounded by a well-manicured lawn and either a low brick wall, a short white picket fence, or a low-cut hedge. "They're all the same." Toshiro muttered in bewilderment.

"Yes, I noticed that too." Ukitake said. "The only thing distinguishing each house from its neighbors is whatever car is in the driveway or whatever decorations are around the house, as well as the brass number displaying which house number is which." Ukitake drove down the street, passing a couple of houses, and coming to a stop in front of a house with a ripped up lawn and a brass number 8 on the door, the half of the picket fence closest to the driveway in shambles. "Welcome home." Ukitake said cheerily.

The five Soul Reapers and Ukitake climbed out of the massive truck and looked around. The streets were unusually quiet for being so early in the day, several of the driveways empty, indicating that the owners must be at work about now. A single woman headed down the street with a small child in one arm and a dozen shopping bags hanging from the other, both of them with their backs to the new comers.

"This place is hideous." Rangiku said. She reached down and picked up a piece of the broken fence. "And what's up with this fence?"

Ukitake chuckled. "Actually, you have Kenpachi to thank for that. Although he didn't do **so** badly for his first time driving, don't you think?"

Rangiku raised a single eye brow as she and the other Soul Reapers surveyed the damage. "Riiiight." She said, precariously dropping the piece back on the ground. "Well, not to worry. **I'm** here and that means a total home makeover, courtesy of yours truly. I'll fix this place up, no sweat."

"Why would you bother fixing this place up anyways?" Renji asked. "We won't be here long enough for it to matter."

Rangiku looked at him like he was an insane. "I am not going to live in a hideous place like this, no matter how long or short it's going to be. What would people say if they saw me in a dump like this?"

"Who do you know here?" Renji asked incredulously. "No one knows you here so they're not going to care."

"I'll care." Rengiku said. "Besides, if we're going to have a drinking party every Saturday, we'll need to make good impressions on the neighbors or else no one is going to want to come."

"No parties." Toshiro said. The others turned to see him leaning against the back of the truck, his trunk leaning beside him, and his arms across his chest in a bored manner. "We want to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible. That means no parties, not too loud of noises, no explosions, no _fighting_," he eyed Renji, Ichigo and Rukia, all of whom were already arguing about who got which room. "And no disturbing the neighbors. Obviously this is a peaceful and well-mannered neighborhood and we stand out enough as it is with this giant hunk of tin here." He tapped a knuckle against the side of the truck.

"Oh, you're right." Ukitake said, looking around at the few cars that were still in their driveways, all of which were small, simple and dignified, proclaiming self-importance. Then he glanced back at the large, monstrous black truck and grinned. "Well, then I guess I better get going before I cause a problem, huh?"

Quickly the rest of the Soul Reapers grabbed their trunks from the bed of the truck and headed up the driveway towards the front door, passing a pile of powdered clay that gave them the impression that it was once a garden gnome. Half way to the door, Toshiro paused and looked over his shoulder, peering across the street at the house in front of theirs and then turned his gaze to the house next to it.

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked. The others paused and looked around themselves.

"You sense him?" Ukitake asked softly.

Toshiro turned to the older captain and nodded. "Do you see him?"

Ukitake nodded. "I do. He was watching us yesterday, too. Kenpachi saw him, frightened him actually, as Yachiru put it. He was hiding behind the low wall around his front yard when we came to furnish the house."

"Who are we talking about?" Rangiku asked in confusion.

Toshiro jerked his chin in the direction of the house he was casually watching, number four. "Act normal and pretend you're just looking around. The house numbered 'Four', across the street from us; in the second window, the small one on the second floor, there's someone watching us. It's Harry Potter."

Ichigo casually glanced up at the window mentioned and noted the small head staring out at them curiously. "That's him? I can't see anything but his head but with what I can see, he looks pretty small. Are you sure that's him?"

"Yes." Ukitake said without nodding. "It's him. The scar we saw when we first saw him was proof; thin, shaped like a bolt of lightening, as the description proclaims."

Toshiro nodded and turned, the others following suit, and continued to the front door. Ukitake maneuvered his way to the front and unlocked the door before handing the key to Toshiro and stepping back to let them inside. Ukitake followed the last person through the door, turned and glanced back at the window of their one-man audience, locking eyes with Harry and giving him a small kind smile before shutting the door.

* * *

Harry stared from the small bathroom window on the second floor down to the house across the street a ways. _So they __**did**__ decide to move into number eight._ Harry thought, watching the white haired man usher the odd-looking teenagers away from the enormous black truck and towards the house. Actually, Harry could have sworn that the smallest one, the boy with spiky hair, white like the older man's, seemed to be in charge, as the others seemed to respectfully let him through to the front of the group and into the house first, not to mention that they didn't even seem interested in entering the house until he had started to head in first.

Harry positioned his feet at different angles on the edge of the bathtub and continued to peer out as they headed up to the front door. Suddenly he ducked as the shorter boy paused and glanced over his shoulder. After a few seconds, Harry peered back out the window to see the others turning around to peer around themselves and Harry could barely make out the shorter boy's lips moving as he spoke to them. Occasionally the others would pass their gaze over his window, but none of them seemed to linger on him long enough to make Harry think they had seen him. He stood up straight again as they continued to head to the door and he watched as the white haired man unlocked the door and handed the key to the shorter boy before moving out of the way to let them through. Before the man shut the door behind him, he glanced up at Harry's window and even though he gave Harry a kind smile, it still made his heart skip a beat when he realized that they _had_ seen him.

Suddenly the bathroom door burst open with a bang and Harry whirled around, forgetting he was standing on the edge of the bathtub, and slipped into the tub with a painful thud as his knees hit the bottom. Before he could get back to his feet, a hand reached out and grabbed him, lifting him into the air and out of the tub and throwing him out into the hallway. Harry landed on his rump, bruising his tailbone, and turned to see his cousin, Dudley, standing in the doorway, sneering at Harry. "I have to get ready." He said scornfully. "We're going to another amusement park when dad gets back from work for my birthday. And **you** don't get to come. Ha ha." Then he slammed the door shut.

Glaring at the closed door, Harry stood and brushed at his pants, checking that his kneecaps were still in tact, before heading into his room and quietly shutting the door. He knew his aunt would be on him in an instant if he slammed the door. He sat on the edge of his bed and peered out the window and down into the back garden, Hedwig staring at him with her large eyes, squeaking occasionally. Who cares if Dudley goes to the amusement park again for his birthday? So what if he got stuck with Mrs. Figg again while everyone else was out having a good time? At least there was one thing Harry had to look forward to. Harry thought about the people he had seen and his heart soared. At least four of the people moving in were around his age, though he wasn't entirely sure about the shorter boy; he might be older than Harry thought, since he seemed to carry himself with the air of someone more mature for his age. And then there was the large, terrifying man he had seen the other day with the little girl. He hoped they weren't moving in as well. The girl might not be so bad but Harry wasn't sure he wanted to be anywhere near that house if that man was going to be there.

Suddenly Hedwig screeched, spreading her wings wide and rattling the bars of her cage. Harry leaped to his feet and rushed to her cage, trying to soothe her as she continued to rattle the bars. "Shh." Harry said, leaning down to look at her at eye level. "What's wrong with you?"

Hedwig screeched again, pecking at the door of her cage and the padlock that had been attached after Harry had returned home. Harry sighed. "I know you want out but I can't. Uncle Vernon won't let you out. There's nothing I can do." Hedwig screeched loudly and Harry winced. She had screeched like this twice yesterday and now she was doing it again. Harry knew that if she kept this up, his uncle would make him get rid of her and he didn't want that.

Harry's heart leaped to his throat as a pounding was suddenly heard on his door, followed by the shrieking voice of his aunt. "Boy, you keep that wretched bird quiet or I will do it myself, you hear? Keep that bird quiet! I will not have you doing anything to disrupt Dudley's birthday!"

Harry shushed Hedwig again, who listened this time, and then waited until he heard his aunt head back downstairs before he sighed in relief and slumped into his desk chair. Then he glanced back up at Hedwig, looking at her sorrowfully. "I'm sorry, Hedwig. You know that if I could let you out, I would. You don't deserve to suffer being locked up because of me. If I could just convince them that you will be better off being let out…"

Harry sat at his desk for a few more moments before getting up and heading over to his bed and flopping face down over the comforter. "Is summer over yet?" he asked, his voice muffled against the mattress. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and placed his chin in his hands, glancing up at the now silent owl. "Do you think they'll like me?" he asked her.

"Boy!" his aunt called up the stairs. Harry got up off of his bed and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. His aunt turned from the sink and pointed a soapy spatula at him and then up towards the bathroom. "Go get washed up; even though you're going to Mrs. Figg, I will not send you there looking like a slob. How do you think that would make us look?" She turned back to the sink and Harry headed back up the stairs. "And do something about your hair, for crying out loud!"

* * *

"All of the bedrooms are up stairs along with two bathrooms, one of which is in the master bedroom, and the dining room, kitchen, and living room are down here on the first floor." Ukitake said. He stood in the middle of the living room with the younger Soul Reapers standing around him. "Each room is furnished with the basics: beds in the bedrooms, blankets on the beds, pillows on the beds, extra blankets in the cupboard under the stairs, couches in the living room, toilet paper in the bathroom, towels and shower supplies in the bathroom, food and dishes in the kitchen, a table for six in the dining room, things like that. If there's anything you think of later that isn't here, just take a taxi into main London and buy it. And I don't think I have to tell you not to go overboard?"

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Ichigo said, sounding bored and uncaring.

Rukia glared at him and then bowed to Ukitake. "Thank you for everything, Captain Ukitake." She said. She added an extra bow, mostly because he was her Division's captain, and then looked towards the staircase leading up to the second floor.

Ukitake laughed. "Well, I better get going. I'll see you all as soon as I can. Until then…"

After Ukitake had left, Toshiro turned to his group. "Alright, I'll give you all about an hour to pick a room and unpack. Afterwards, I want all of you to meet me in the dining room." He eyed each of them, making sure they paid enough attention to listen to his instructions, and then nodded. "Go."

He had barely said the word before the living room was empty and he could hear shouting from upstairs as the other Soul Reapers fought over who slept where. Toshiro sighed in exasperation, once again cursing Soul Society for putting him in charge of this motley crew. Then he headed up the stairs with his trunk, spotting Rukia, Renji, Ichigo and Rangiku near the landing, the four of them arguing over the corner room above the kitchen and away from the location of the front door, no doubt the master bedroom. Letting them argue, he decided to spite them all and slipped, unnoticed, into the room and slammed the door in all of their faces and locked it.

Smirking at the sudden silence, the four of them no doubt stunned silent, he turned and tossed his trunk on his bed and began pulling out his clothing and placed them in the closet and everything else into the drawers in the night stand. He sighed when he pulled out the large stack of paperwork he had decided to take with him, which had turned out to be nearly half the stack that had been on his desk in his office. Figuring he might as well get started as soon as possible, he placed them on the night stand for after the meeting and then headed back downstairs and into the dining room. He was surprised to see Ichigo already there, drinking out of a cola can.

"I would've expected you to still be arguing with the others over the rooms." Toshiro said as he took a seat at the head of the table.

Ichigo shrugged and took another drink before answering. "Neh, I figured I'd take a leaf out of your book and head into one room and close and lock the door behind me. Then I hurried up and unpacked before they could chase me out."

Toshiro nodded. "Smart. I get the impression that you're a bit smarter than you let on."

Again, Ichigo shrugged. "I guess. I'm not a genius or anything but I do know about common sense and all that. It's not that I don't know something when I answer in a way that makes people think I don't know what I'm talking about; I just don't give a damn."

Toshiro smirked. "That's a great way to think about things."

Ichigo smirked back. "I guess. But it pisses the hell out of Rukia. She's such a pain in the ass sometimes."

Toshiro's smirk deepened. "I don't know; you two seem awfully close." Ichigo glared at him. "But then again, so does she and Abarai. But what do I know? I'm just a _genius_."

Ichigo scowled. "Whatever." He mumbled. The two of them sat in silence a moment more before he spoke again. "So what do you think of this Harry Potter kid? From what I saw, he didn't seem so special to me."

"I know but I guess appearances aren't everything. Each of us should know something about that." Toshiro said. Ichigo scoffed. "We'll discuss it more in a few minutes, _**when the others get down here like their supposed to!**_" he shouted. The silent arguing upstairs paused at his shout and then the two of them heard several pairs of feet thundering down the stairs. Toshiro rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose when the others burst from the hallway through the dining room door, nearly slamming it off of its hinges. "You're late."

Rangiku glanced around and spotted the clock above the other dining room door that lead into the kitchen. "We're only late by two minutes." She argued.

"But you're still late." Toshiro retorted. "I said one hour, not one hour and two minutes. Now take your seats so we can be done with this."

"And what exactly are we doing?" Rangiku asked as she took a seat on Toshiro's right. Renji sat next to Ichigo, who was seated on Toshiro's left and Rukia sat across from him next to Rangiku.

"We're going to discuss what we need to do the weeks that we're here before we go to Diagon Alley." Toshiro said. "First off, now that you all know what Harry Potter looks like, it will make it that much easier to keep an eye on him. I know he doesn't seem like much but there may be more under the surface. And if I'm correct, which I believe I am, today is his cousin, Dudley's, birthday. Which means that Harry will be shipped to his neighbor's house, Mrs. Figg, who lives on Wisteria Walk; that was the street we were on before we turned onto Privet Drive. Someone will need to keep an eye on him for that time. I'll be doing that. For the rest of the summer, we'll be watching him as often as we can when we can. When the time comes for us to go to Diagon Alley, someone will need to stay behind or go on ahead with Harry but make sure he doesn't know you're tailing him."

"I have a question." Ichigo said. "What's his name, Ukitake. He said that we'll be going to Diagon Alley in two weeks to buy our stuff. What exactly are we buying, besides a wand and spell books?"

"Those are the only things we'll be buying." Toshiro said. "We're buying our wands and our spell books; that's all. All of you have a list of items that are needed for the school year, which you got in your letters. We will buy everything else after we move from here to the Leaky Cauldron. During the time between our stay here and our move to the Leaky Cauldron, we'll be practicing with our wands, doing everything we can to catch up with everyone else. We **will not** be using kido. Use that, and your Zanpaktou, only in cases of emergencies. I will also talk to this Albus Dumbledore person when we get there about being able to carry our Zanpaktou during the day somehow. I will explain more about our jobs for protecting the school when the time comes. Until then, our initial objective at the moment is to keep an eye on Potter. Understood?" The others nodded. "Good. Dismissed."

Several minutes later, Toshiro sat on the roof above his room, a few pages of the paperwork he had brought with him in his lap. As he finished the sheet he was currently working on, he glanced up when he heard the sound of a car door slamming and he saw a large, beefy man stride up the walk way of Number Four and entered the house. Toshiro assumed it was Harry's uncle and turned half of his attention back onto his papers, keeping the other half on the house, just in case. Five minutes later, the man re-emerged from the house with Harry, a porky boy fatter and taller than Harry, whom Toshiro figured was the cousin, and a tall, thin, horse-faced woman that Toshiro guessed was the aunt. The four of them entered the car and drove down Privet drive until they got to Wisteria Walk. Then they pulled over in front of a house and the man dragged Harry out of the car and up the walk to the front door.

Toshiro set the papers aside, glad that there was no wind today even if it was a bit hot for his liking, and leaned forward a bit to get a better look. An elderly woman opened the door and greeted them rather pleasantly. Toshiro didn't need sound in order to guess that the man, the uncle, hadn't replied nearly as politely as he shoved his nephew into the house and walked back to his car and drove out of sight. Toshiro watched as Harry started to enter the house and then turned his head towards Toshiro's house. He knew Harry would be pretty surprised to see him sitting on the roof and sure enough, Harry did a double take and stood rooted to the spot, gazing up at Toshiro in, what he assumed was bewilderment. He smirked when the woman tapped the boy on the shoulder and Harry jumped before heading into the house.

Toshiro waited a beat and, sure enough, Harry was seen in front of the window in, what Toshiro assumed was the bathroom on the second floor, judging on the texture of the window compared to the rest of the house's windows. Toshiro watched as Harry hesitantly raised a hand and timidly waved. Toshiro quirked an eyebrow but decided to humor the boy, and waved back. Besides, it might help him gain the boy's trust. He figured gaining his trust would make keeping an eye on him all the more easier. At least, he hoped so.

* * *

**A/N: Oops, sorry everyone. I didn't mean to go this long. Twelve pages! It was an accident, I swear. I got carried away, I guess, and didn't pay attention to how many pages I was doing. Oh, well. I'm sure you guys will enjoy this at least. Hopefully. And about the whole cupboard under the stairs of the Soul Reapers' house; I figured since the houses are the same on the outside, they might be the same on the inside as well except for the occasional extra bedroom or something. So… yeah. Please don't forget to review and I'll see about posting the next chapter early. Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. since we will be getting further into the main storyline, it's going to be difficult being creative and stuff so please bear with me and be patient if the chapters start skipping the days they are supposed to be posted. I'm doing my best but Fall classes are starting and I must focus on those first. Thanks for the understanding.**


	7. To Diagon Alley

**A/N: Well, Fall classes are starting in about a month. Which means we have that long to get as many chapters done as possible before I get swamped with nagging professors. I will be working as hard as I can to get as many done as possible. Please bear with me. Hopefully I can get at least one chapter every week from now until the start of classes. Wish me luck!**

**Disclaimers: You know the drill by now peoples. Don't make me say it again.**

**ATT: I WAS REREADING MY CHAPTERS AND I NOTICED THAT IN THIS CHAPTER, TOSHIRO SAYS THAT HE IS FOURTEEN WHEN HARRY ASKS HIM HOW OLD HE IS. BUT I ACTUALLY DIDN'T HAVE HIM TURN FOURTEEN UNTIL DECEMBER, AS HE STATES IN A LATER CHAPTER. SO I'VE COME BACK AND FIXED THIS. I THINK THIS WILL MAKE THINGS A BIT CLEARER, HOPEFULLY.  
**

**Chapter Seven: To Diagon Alley**

The next few days went passed with relative ease. After the first two days of disorder, in which Ichigo, Renji, Rukia and Rengiku fought over the bathroom in the morning, as neither of the boys would accept the 'ladies first' baloney, argued on whether or not someone's cooking was edible for breakfast, and the occasional feelings of not knowing what to do with themselves during the day, they finally managed to form something of a routine, determined to keep the peace in an attempt to keep Toshiro from slaughtering them all and then requesting a new team because something 'mysteriously' happened to his old one. Toshiro allowed Rengiku to use his bathroom in the mornings in order to narrow down the arguing between the four of them and Rukia, Renji and Ichigo created the rule of first come, first serve for the other bathroom, meaning if someone wanted the bathroom first, they had to get up earlier than everyone else.

Saturday morning, Toshiro sat on his usual perch on the roof with his back against the chimney, working on the paperwork he was determined to finish at least halfway in order to keep from having so much to do once they got to the school, along with the class work they would get. As he worked, he kept a mental eye on Harry's house, making sure all was well with the child they were supposed to protect.

A few hours, and several completed papers later, Toshiro glanced up and swiveled his head in the direction of Harry's house as the feint sound of someone shouting reached his ears. Carefully, he placed the papers down and placed on top the heavy rock he had found the other day. Then he stood up and walked to the edge of the roof and focused on listening to the shouting, trying to determine what it was about.

"**-DON'T COME NEAR MY FAMILY!**"

Toshiro narrowed his eyes as he recognized the voice as belonging to Harry's uncle. Hoping an enemy hadn't snuck into the house under his watch, Toshiro quickly flitted down, across the street and over to the living room window of number four and peered inside. Harry sat on the edge of the couch and he looked terrified. The uncle was standing a few feet away, continuing to shout into, what Toshiro realized was a telephone. After he hung up, he turned a furious gaze to Harry, who coward against the back of the couch.

"**HOW DARE YOU GIVE OUR NUMBER TO THOSE FREAKS FROM THAT WRETCHED SCHOOL!**" he shouted.

Toshiro rolled his eyes after he realized what the man was so angry about. Of course it would have something to do with his silly prejudice against Harry and his _abnormal_ world. This man was so pathetic. Toshiro continued to watch as Harry's uncle continued to shout before sending Harry up to his room. Toshiro paused for a moment, contemplating, and then smirked and quickly jumped up to the roof and over to the back of the house. Stealthily, he crept to the edge of the roof at the back of the house and leaned down until he hung upside down above the first window. Seeing a large bedroom identical to his own, he figured it was the master bedroom and therefore not Harry's. Then he pulled himself back up and over to the next window near the other end of the house. Leaning down carefully, Toshiro glanced in and saw Harry sitting on a chair next to a desk with a snowy white owl perched in a cage on top of one side. He seemed to be speaking to it, leaning with his elbow on the desk and his chin in his hand, running the index finger of his free hand along the owl's white wing through the cage bars.

Quirking an eyebrow, Toshiro decided that he was bored and tired of doing his paperwork for a while and needed a distraction. Therefore, having made up his mind, he leaned further down and gently tapped on the glass with a knuckle. At first, Harry didn't respond, though the owl seemed to have heard the sound, for Toshiro could see Harry jump up and try to sooth the now startled bird. He waited until the owl had calmed down a bit and then tapped on the glass again. Harry froze and quickly turned his gaze to the window, did a double take, and nearly fell over his desk chair in an attempt to back away from the window, knocking the chair to the ground with a dull thud. The sudden commotion caused the owl to once again become hysterical and start beating her wings against the bars. Harry paused and turned to the bedroom door.

Using his keen sense of hearing, Toshiro listened through the window as the sound of feet rapidly ascending the stairs filled his ears, followed by a shout from Harry's uncle. Groaning in irritation, Toshiro pulled himself away from the window and listened.

"Boy!" the uncle yelled as Toshiro heard him burst through the bedroom door. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep that blasted bird quiet? I don't care what you do but if that creature isn't quiet, it'll have to go!"

"She's bored and restless." Harry said, desperate to defend his owl. "She wants to go outside. She's not used to being locked up. If I could just-"

"Absolutely not!" Uncle Vernon cut in. "Do you think I'm stupid, Boy? You let that bird loose, and who knows what it'll bring back from that- that place! No, I forbid it! You keep that bird quiet! I mean it, boy! Silence!" Then Toshiro heard the door slam and the sound of the uncle descending the stairs. A minute later, he heard the sound of the window opening and Harry's voice floating up to him.

"Hey. You still there?"

Toshiro leaned back over the edge of the roof and knelt down until he was just above Harry's ear. "Yes." He said. He smirked when Harry jumped and hit his head on the top of the window frame. Muttering a curse under his breath, Harry looked up at Toshiro with a glare. "Sorry." Toshiro said, though he sounded more amused than sorry.

"Don't do that." Harry hissed at him, rubbing his head. Then he paused and asked, "What are you doing here? How'd you get up there without anyone noticing? And who are you? You're one of the people that moved in across the street, aren't you? What-"

"Will you stop talking?" Toshiro snapped. "It's really irritating when people babble question after question at someone without giving them a chance to answer. Then they get offended when they don't get any answers because they think the one being questioned is being rude. Ask one question and then wait for an answer before asking another. You'll find that more information can be acquired that way."

Harry paused to filter through what he had been told and then flushed when he realized that he was right. "Sorry. So, um, what's your name?" he asked, picking his first question.

Toshiro was about to give him his title but paused, remembering that he was not in Soul Society, nor was he in Japan, which meant that he needed to phrase his name differently. Deciding there was no harm in giving the boy a small lesson in different cultural courtesies when stating ones name, Toshiro answered, "In Japan it would be Hitsugaya, Toshiro. However, here it would be Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Harry stared. One question had been answered but now several others had taken its place. He decided to go with the first one that came to his mouth. "You're from Japan?"

Toshiro quirked an amused eyebrow. "That wasn't one of your previous questions. But yes, I am."

Harry flushed again at being caught coming up with a new question. "Oh. So, your name is… Toe… toe…"

"Toe- shear- row." Toshiro said, forcing himself to be patient as he sounded out his name for the boy. He knew their names were going to be difficult for the gaijin to pronounce and that their names were bound to get butchered even more once they reached the school. "Toshiro. It's Japanese, so it's bound to be difficult to pronounce."

"Toe- shear- row." Harry said slowly, sounding each syllable out. "Toshiro. Right?" Toshiro nodded, glad the boy was able to get the hang of it so quickly. "Right. Hey, do you want to come in or something? My neck is starting to hurt from looking up so much."

Toshiro paused and turned his gaze toward where his temporary house was. Then he looked back to Harry. "Sure but give me a minute. I need to let the others know where I am, in case they get into any trouble while I'm gone."

"Um, okay." Harry said, obviously taken aback by the oddness of the answer. _He doesn't look like he's joking, though._ Harry thought. "Just come in when you get back. Unless my uncle or my aunt or my cousin are in the room." He added hastily.

Toshiro nodded and turned and headed back to his house. Climbing up to the roof first and retrieving his papers, he crawled in through his window and placed the stack on his night stand in their respective piles, 'complete' and 'incomplete', and then headed down to the living room, where Ichigo and Rukia sat on the couch, flipping through the channels. "Where are the other two?" he asked, coming to stand beside Ichigo.

Ichigo shrugged but didn't look away from the TV, continuing to flip through the channels. Rukia smacked his arm and stood up to bow respectively. "Last I heard, Renji was in the kitchen and Rengiku was in her room, planning out her project of the home makeover she wanted to do."

Toshiro rolled his eyes and nodded to Rukia. "Thank you. Well, I'll inform you two and you can tell Renji. I'll tell Rengiku." He paused and glanced at Ichigo, waiting for him to look up. When he didn't, Toshiro grabbed the remote from his hand and snapped the TV off.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Ichigo snapped, leaping to his feet and glaring down at Toshiro.

Toshiro glared back at Ichigo, using the slight temperature drop as a warning not to push him despite his height. "Now that I have your attention, I'm letting you all know that I will be back later. I'm heading over to Harry's house."

"Harry?" Ichigo repeated, blinking in confusion as his momentary anger vanished. "Why are you going over there? Did something happen?"

Toshiro shook his head, allowing the temperature to return to normal. "Not really. I heard his uncle shouting earlier. Apparently, someone from Harry's world, A.K.A. someone from the wizarding world, tried to call him on the telephone. However, I don't think they knew how to use one because I heard whoever it was shouting and then the uncle shouted about never going near his family and then shouting at Harry for giving someone from Harry's "freak school" their number."

"Prejudice bastard." Ichigo muttered with a scowl.

Toshiro and Rukia nodded in agreement. "Afterwards, I snuck over to Harry's bedroom window and knocked on the window but it scared his owl. Then his uncle started shouting again about Harry's owl making noise and that he was going to get rid of it if it continued. Harry tried to explain that she needed to be freer and not stuck in a cage but the uncle refused. Again, he demonstrated being bigotry by saying that he wasn't going to let the owl free so it could bring back who-knows-what from the wizarding world." Ichigo scoffed at the uncle's idiocy. "Harry invited me into his room, so that's where I will be. However, his relatives do not know I spoke to him and I plan on keeping it that way. If any of you need me, it can wait until I get back. If it's an emergency, send someone to come and get me. Preferably one who is stealthy enough to get onto the roof and over to Harry's window without getting caught. His window is in the same location as Renji's."

"Understood, Captain." Rukia said with a nod. Then she turned and headed to the kitchen to inform Renji. Ichigo nodded to Toshiro.

"Right, so can I have to remote now?" he asked.

Toshiro glared at him before tossing it back to him and heading up the stairs to Rengiku's room. He knocked once and entered. Rengiku glanced up from the sheets of paper she had out in front of her, her feet kicking the air idly as she lay on her stomach on the bed. "Captain!" she cried happily. She jumped up and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards her bed. "Look, I think there's hope for this place yet." She grabbed a few of the sheets of paper and shoved them under his nose. "See?"

Toshiro pushed the pages away from his face so he could 'see'. He glanced at the drawings Rengiku had done and then sighed in exasperation. "Rengiku, we are not expanding the house, nor are we building a pool, planting a bunch of trees, painting the house pink, or…" he glanced back at the drawing. "Or building a fountain. Our goal here in this neighborhood is to be inconspicuous. Doing even one of these things would make us stick out worse than a drop of blood in the snow. The most you could do would be to fix the fence Kenpachi ruined. I also noticed that several of the houses have gardens. Maybe you could do something like that if you think we need it. But otherwise, there's no need to do anything more, since we won't be here long enough for it to matter."

"Aw, but Toshiro." Rengiku pouted. "I worked so hard on this. Can't I at least paint the house? It looks as bland as the rest of this hideous neighborhood."

Toshiro shook his head. "No, that's the point of blending in." The idea of living in a pink house, for any length of time, made his stomach clench nauseously. "I already gave you your options of what you could do. Now, pay attention." Quickly, he explained to her where he was going and why. "As lieutenants, you and Renji are to keep an eye on the place. And by that, I mean keep it the way it was when I left it. No additions, no subtractions, no multiplications, no divisions, and no alterations. Understood?"

"Fine, fine." Rengiku said, waving her hand idly as she went back to her drawings. "Now maybe I'll do a garden instead. Let's see, I think it should have…"

Toshiro left her to it and headed out, hoping the house wouldn't become unrecognizable when he returned. Knowing Rengiku as well as he did, he wouldn't put it past her to make any kind of drastic change in the amount of time it took him to get to and from Harry's house. He just hoped she would be able to restrain herself for once. _Fat chance of that_. He scoffed.

* * *

Harry sat on the edge of his bed, gazing out of the window expectantly. He felt pathetic, sitting there like an idiot waiting for Toshiro to come back because he had nothing better to do. The trouble was, he _didn't_ have anything better to do. His school things had been locked in the cupboard as soon as he had walked in the door, so he couldn't do any of his homework even if he wanted to. Not to mention Toshiro might get curious when he came in and noticed Harry with a potions book in his lap. He read every one of Dudley's books that had been stored in his room, though there weren't many because people started realizing that Dudley didn't read and so stopped giving him books for his birthdays.

Harry sighed and got up and walked over to Hedwig's cage. His heart had nearly burst from his chest when he turned around and saw Toshiro hanging upside down outside his window. _Like a vampire_. Harry thought with a shudder. He had never met one before but if he had to make a wild guess, he would say that Toshiro came close. He was pretty pale and he had unnatural hair color. But his eyes weren't blood red and he had been out in the sun. Harry didn't remember everything from his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks but he didn't think vampires were supposed to be out in the sun. But who knows. Maybe Toshiro wasn't a vampire.

"What do you think, Hedwig?" he asked her.

"I didn't know you spoke to animals."

Harry jumped and whirled around to see Toshiro sitting on the window sill, a small amused smile dancing across his face. Harry glared at him, willing his heartbeat to return to normal. "Don't _**do**_ that!" Harry hissed angrily, clutching his chest. "I swear this time my heart stopped."

Toshiro chuckled softly. "Sorry." He said, again sounding more amused than apologetic. He looked pointedly at the owl. "What's her name?"

Harry turned back to Hedwig, stroking her wings through the bars as she looked at Toshiro wearily. "Her name's Hedwig. It's a name I found in a book when I first got her. That was…two years ago." Harry said, his voice filling with wonder at the end. "Huh, it's already been two years. I got her two summers ago."

"Hm. She shouldn't be locked up in a cage." Toshiro said.

Harry nodded sadly. "I know. I want to let her out but my uncle refuses. He doesn't want her bringing anything…unpleasant back." _I need to remember to watch what I say_. He told himself. He turned back to Toshiro, wanting to change the subject that was too close to home for comfort. "So, how old are you?"

Toshiro smirked. "So we're back to playing twenty questions?"

Harry flushed. "Sorry."

"How old do you think I am?" Toshiro asked. He knew everyone at Hogwarts would comment about his age and height and he wanted to practice his patience before being bombarded with comments from the rest of the school. And that meant trying not to become offended if they commented on how old he _looked_.

Harry paused, looking at him thoughtfully. "Well," he started. "I want to say at least eight or nine, but judging by the way you talk and the way you carry yourself, I'd say you're a lot older than that. So maybe eleven, possibly twelve?"

Toshiro smirked. At least he knows better than to judge based on appearance. "Close. I'm thirteen."

Harry's eyes widened. "Thirteen?"

"Believe it or not." It was a good thing they came up with, and memorized, the details of their made up personas yesterday. "We're all a bit older or younger than we look. I'm the youngest of my group. I turn fourteen in December."

"What about the little girl?" Harry asked. He had so many questions swimming in his head, he was afraid he would forget one but he was determined not to overwhelm Toshiro like before. He didn't want to annoy him and lose him as a friend.

"If you mean the little girl with pink hair, she's not living with us." Toshiro said, secretly glad that Yachiru wasn't here. The last thing they needed was a hyperactive little girl with a massive obsession with sweets. Just thinking about the mounds of candy she ate in a day made his teeth hurt. Sometimes, too much was too much and hers was _**way**_ too much. "It's only us teenagers. There are five of us. The man you saw when we first got here; he was just buying the house for us."

"Is he your dad or something?" Harry asked. "You and he kind of look alike."

Toshiro blinked. They hadn't thought of anything for Ukitake because he wasn't supposed to be here long enough for questions to come up. "Yes." Toshiro said, deciding to go with it. He would have to remember to let Ukitake and the others know the new development to their story. Ukitake would be thrilled. Or amused. "He is."

Harry nodded. "Thought so. But actually, your hair is what makes you guys look so similar. Is it natural or…?"

"It's normal for me now." Toshiro said. "It was a type of experiment gone wrong, I guess you could say." _I should probably thank Matsumoto for the ridiculous lie about my hair color she came up with. But only if the house manages to stay intact for the summer._ "We could never figure out a way to fix it, so we just left it the way it is."

"Oh, I see." Harry said. _I guess that's not so odd. We have spells that can do that too, I guess. I wonder if there's one that can reverse his accident?_ "But what about the girl with pink hair?"

"She just wanted to change the color because I did, even though it wasn't voluntary for me." Toshiro answered swiftly. He was a bit surprised he was able to come up with answers so quickly. Then again, he didn't become the youngest captain in Soul Society for nothing.

"That makes sense, I guess." Harry said. "So, wait, your dad. Why did he just leave you guys here by yourselves? I mean, no offense but even though you guys are teenagers, you're still pretty young to be by yourselves, even though you're in a group."

"It's because we're in a group. Besides, we're studying abroad. This is just another stop." Toshiro said, this time going with Ichigo's excuse he used for his family. "Another place to learn new things. Speaking of which, we're supposed to go into main London in about a week to get some supplies for the new summer semester. Any ideas how to get there?"

"Can't you use that giant truck you guys came in?" Harry asked. Do they even have driver's licenses?

"No, we don't have it." Toshiro said. "And none of us are old enough to drive yet."

"Oh, that's right. Well, you could take a cab." Harry suggested. "Or you could go with a bus or something. I'm sure there's one that can take you to main London and back, even with whatever you buy. You just need to make sure you have the right amount of money for whoever is going."

Toshiro nodded. "Right now we're just buying the basics. We'll get everything else when the date for the start of classes gets closer." Toshiro made a show of looking at the black wrist watch that went with his outfit, compliments of Rengiku. "I had better be heading back. I need to make sure the house is still in one piece."

Harry started to laugh but something about the serious expression on Toshiro's face when he said it made him feel that he might not have been kidding again. "Okay, well then I guess I'll see you around."

Toshiro nodded and turned on the windowsill, getting ready to jump back onto the roof. "I'm sure we'll see each other again." Toshiro said without turning around. "After all, we live across the street from each other." Then he jumped up and grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled himself up in a way that would make a gymnast proud.

Harry felt his heart sink as he leaned out of his window and watched Toshiro disappear onto the roof. He had finally made a friend on Privet Drive and he didn't want him to leave, even though he knew he couldn't stay. Not only would his friends be worried about him, but Harry knew he couldn't hide Toshiro in his room from his aunt and uncle. And especially not from Dudley. And once school started again, he would be gone for the rest of the year and so would Toshiro with his study abroad group. He'd never see him again. After Toshiro and his friends left next summer, that house would be empty again and Harry would once again be friendless during the summers.

"I hate Privet Drive." He told the back garden. Sighing, he closed the window almost all the way, just in case Toshiro decided to visit again. Then he turned and headed to his bedroom door, feeling that enough time had passed for it to be safe to go down for food.

* * *

Toshiro visited Harry twice more the following week, once on Monday when the relatives had gone out and left Harry alone, allowing Toshiro to use the front door instead of the window. They spent the day talking about their different cultural activities and holidays and latest inventions of the century. Harry found everything Toshiro said about Japan extremely fascinating and he knew that Hermoine would be so jealous if she knew he was learning about a different country without her. "I wish I could visit." Harry had said. "Japan sounds like a neat place."

Toshiro shrugged, petting the owl that now sat on his knee. He had picked the padlock the uncle had placed on the cage, after Harry had admitted that he didn't know how, and allowing the bird out as long as the window was closed and she went back in when Harry's aunt and uncle returned. "Japan has it's ups and downs like any other country. But it is nice, I suppose. Living so long in one country, you don't really think too much about it until you leave it."

Harry nodded. "I guess that's true."

Toshiro had left when the Dursleys returned, locking Hedwig back in her cage, much to her displeasure, and gone out the window and over the roof after he heard the front door open and close. He returned the following Thursday night when everyone else had gone to bed and told Harry about the plan for him and his group to go into main London on Monday the fifth and that they would be gone almost the entire day.

Harry felt a twist in his stomach at the news. Not only was Toshiro leaving for the day but also he was going into main London. If only Harry could go with them. He so desperately wanted to take Toshiro into Diagon Alley and show him everything about his world. He had a feeling Toshiro might like it, even though Harry was sure he was a muggle because he hadn't once said anything that would indicate otherwise. He didn't recognize Harry's name, as other wizards and witches did, and the one time Harry tried, he didn't acknowledge any of the hints Harry had dropped about wishing there was a simpler way to do things, or that he wished there was a place he could go and be himself, somewhere magical, or any of the other hints he had made. He supposed it was a good thing Toshiro didn't pick up on anything about magic if he was a muggle. That would have been bad for the both of them if a muggle found out about magic because Harry had told him.

* * *

Now, Monday morning, July fifth, was possibly the worst morning Toshiro had ever experienced. He awoke at five o'clock a.m. that morning, an hour before he had planned on getting up, by the shouts of Rukia and Renji as they pounded on the bathroom door, demanding that Ichigo hurry up and get out. Toshiro growled, cursing his misfortune once again for getting teamed up with those three, and buried his head under his pillow in a feeble attempt to block out the noise. Several minutes later, he heard a knock on the door before Rengiku burst through, carrying a towel and a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"Don't mind me, Captain." She said around a yawn as she headed towards the bathroom. "I'm just going to shower and freshen up, since I'm most likely not going to be able to go back to sleep with those three shouting down the house. Honestly, can't a girl get her beauty sleep around here?"

Toshiro grunted as the bathroom door closed behind her and sat up. He knew he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep either. _Curse these stupid gigais and their need for sleep. Couldn't Kurotsuchi have given us ones that didn't need it?_ Grumbling, he got up and headed toward his bedroom door, which he threw open with a bang. He glared out into the hallway, where Rukia and Renji paused to look at him with startled eyes, their fists poised in mid-air, frozen in the action of pounding on the door.

Toshiro stalked towards them almost predatorily, causing the both of them to back up instinctively as the temperature in the hall dropped steadily lower and lower. "Both of you, back to your rooms." He said, dangerously calm but dripping with irritation. "Now."

Rukia and Renji quickly scampered back into their rooms and waited in the doorway, watching as Toshiro turned and banged on the door with a fist. "Kurosaki, are you almost finished?" he called.

"Yeah, hang on." Toshiro heard a soft rustling and then the door opened and Ichigo walked out in a pair of jeans and his shirt draped over one shoulder and a bundle of clothes in his arms. He shivered. "Now I'm done. But it's freezing out here."

Toshiro nodded. "Good." He turned back to the other two and looked pointedly at Renji. "I expected better behavior from the Lieutenant of Division Six. But since the two of you are going to act like children, I'm going to treat you like children. Abarai, you are higher ranked, so you go first. After you are finished, get dressed as quickly as possible and get out. **Then** Kuchiki can go and we could all be done with it. It is too damn early for this crap and if this happens again the next time we get ready to go to Diagon Alley, I'll have Hyorinmaru send you three back to Soul Society as ice statues for Division Eleven's garden. Is that clear?"

There was a murmur of "yes, Captain" from the two bedrooms and a "yeah" from Ichigo. Then Toshiro turned and stomped back into his room and slammed the door. The sooner they got out of that house, the better. The rest of that morning went much better and by six forty-five, they were just about ready to go.

"So, when is the cab supposed to be here to pick us up?" Ichigo asked as he finished his cereal.

Toshiro sat on the counter and sipped his tea contently. "Seven." He answered. "We'll be there the majority of the day."

Before anyone else could speak, there was a low tapping noise coming from the glass door connecting the back yard to the kitchen. Everyone looked up to see a large tawny owl hovering just outside the door, a letter clutched tightly in it's beak. Rangiku placed her fork on her plate and headed over to let the bird in. Immediately, the owl flew in and landed on the counter beside Toshiro, placed the letter in his lap and flew back out the door.

Toshiro placed his teacup down and picked up the letter, glancing at the address before tearing it open and pulling out two pieces of paper. "It's from Urahara." He said, scanning the first page before leafing to the second. He nodded and folded the second page and placed it in the front pocket of his jeans. "He sent me a map of Diagon Alley; we shouldn't have a problem getting around in there with this."

"Well, that's good." Renji said from his seat between Ichigo and Rukia. "It would suck if we got lost in there." The others nodded in agreement.

Toshiro glanced down at his watch and drained the rest of his tea before leaping off the counter and headed out of the kitchen. "Let's go, the cab should be here in a minute." He called over his shoulder. He placed his hand in his pocket, making sure his money bag was still there, along with the key to the house. He stood in the open doorway as the cab pulled up to the front of the house and turned as the others came up behind him. "It's here, let's go."

Quickly, the five of them left the house and piled into the back of the cab, Ichigo, Renji, and Rengiku sitting in the main seats and Toshiro and Rukia sitting in the jump seats facing backwards. Toshiro told the driver their destination, and then sat back and waited. Half an hour later, the five of them stood in front of a small clothing store, glancing at the normal people walking to and fro. "Let's go." Toshiro said.

He lead them down the street until they got to the Leaky Cauldron, nestled tightly between the record store and book store, looking as shabby as ever. Toshiro pushed the door open, causing a bell to ring softly somewhere in the background. The change was instantaneous. The noise in the room dimmed into silence as the occupancies turned to stare at the newcomers. Toshiro stepped forward after a few moments. "We're looking for the innkeeper. We need to get into Diagon Alley. Can someone be so kind as to point him out to us?"

The room was silent for another minute before a balding man stepped from behind the bar. "I'm Tom, the innkeeper. Do any of you have wands?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, that's what we're here for. We need to buy the stuff we will be needing for the school year, including wands."

Tom nodded and beckoned them towards him as he headed passed a staircase and out a back door. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, we're from a country called Japan." Toshiro answered. "We're here as a study abroad group. We'll be attending Hogwarts for a year before moving on."

"Hmm. Sounds interesting, I guess." Tom said. "Well, here we go."

They stopped in front of a brick wall a few feet past the back door. "Watch carefully." He instructed them. He pulled out his own wand and pointed it at the wall. "You tap the brick above this trashcan here, and tap up three and then two over. Like this." He tapped the bricks as he had instructed and a moment later they were standing in a brick archway where the wall had been. On the other side was what seemed to be an old fashioned looking street, crowds of people dressed in odd robes jumbled around several odd-looking shops with even odder items displayed in the windows. Tom grinned at their stunned faces. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Another long chapter, just like you guys requested. Haha. I hope you guys liked this one. I know some of the quotes I used from the book aren't completely word for word but I don't have the books with me right now. Their in a box somewhere under my bed. So, yeah…**

**Anyways, the next chapter will most likely be just as long, not entirely sure though. As for Ichigo's hollow self, he will definitely be around. You'll see him either in the next chapter or the one after; not sure yet. And as for their ages and stuff. That will all be explained as much as possible later. So until then, please review and let me know what you guys thought about this. Thanks!**

**~ Map of Diagon Alley that Urahara sends to Toshiro and group. **** (**www dot hp-lexicon dot org / atlas / britain / atlas-b-diagon dot html**) but without the spaces of course and with a "." instead of the word "dot" (Map provided by Harry Potter Lexicon. Thanks HPL!)**


	8. School Shopping Part 1

**A/N: Hey, sorry everyone but I just haven't been able to get anywhere with internet access, so I haven't been able to post. The good news about that is that I've almost finished the next chapter and it should be posted in a few days. Don't worry; the day for the Soul Reapers to go to Hogwarts will be coming up soon. Remember, this is starting with their mission for the summer of protecting Harry from Black, Voldemort and the Dementors. I have a set schedule written out for what happens in each chapter and I assure you, Hogwarts will be coming up soon. Also, thanks for everyone who let me know the correct way to spell Rangiku. I couldn't remember which way it was and spell check couldn't help, obviously.**

**For those interested, I have decided to start Hollow Ichigo in this chapter. When he speaks, it will be **_**like this**_**, including the bolding. And when Ichigo and the others think, it will be **_like this_**, including when Ichigo responds to his hollow self. Hollow Ichigo may seem a bit OOC, but that's because I'm not that good with him. Hopefully it will be acceptable.**

**Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. Anything I do own, I will let you know when the time comes, if it does. Get it? Got it? Good.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: School Shopping Part 1**

After letting them take a few minutes to take in their surroundings, Tom turned to Toshiro, who he figured to be the spokesperson of the group. "If you need to get gold, Gringotts is where you aught to go first." He pointed ahead a ways, where they could see the top of a marbled white building surrounded by other buildings. "That there is Gringotts Wizarding Bank, one of the safest places in the wizarding world for anything valuable."

Toshiro nodded to Tom. "Thank you for your help. I believe we can figure it out from here."

Tom nodded and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. They watched as the brick archway sealed itself shut, becoming a solid brick wall once more. Ichigo turned to the rest of his group and folded his arms behind his head. "So where to first?" he asked.

Toshiro turned back to the white building. "We go to the bank first. Then we get wands and textbooks."

The group headed down the street, passing a shop with a display of cauldrons in a window, a shop with a broomstick over the door with a sign that read _Quality Quidditch Supplies_, and a shop filled with books of every shape and size before they finally stopped in front of a large white marble building with the words _Gringotts Wizarding Bank_ etched into the white marble.

Toshiro paused outside the double doors and turned to the rest of the group. "You guys wait out here. I'll go in and get a handful of each coin and bring it back. There's really no need for all of us to go in when we're not even going to get that much. While I'm gone, stay here. Don't wander off. I swear, if I come back and someone is missing, they won't be returning to the house in one piece." And with that he turned and headed through the first set of double doors before going through the second pair of double doors and over to an available teller.

While Toshiro went to get their money, Ichigo turned and eyed the other shops surrounding them until his gaze drifted to another alley that he noticed most people were avoiding, giving it a wide berth as they went from one shop to another. The alley looked dark and damp and quite foreboding. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the odd feeling he got as he continued to stare into the alley.

'_**That place looks inviting, doesn't it, King?'**_

Ichigo stiffened and quickly turned to his companions before inching away a few paces. _What the hell are you doing?_ He thought furiously. _I told you not to speak to me!_

'_**Relax, King. No one can hear me except you, remember? So are you going to go over there? It looks promising.'**_

_No, I'm not. I've got a bad feeling about that alley. Besides, if I leave, Toshiro will have my ass._ Ichigo glanced at the double doors of the bank, expecting Toshiro to emerge any minute.

_**Since when did you start listening to half-pint, pipsqueak captains? Let's go.**_

_No._ Ichigo started to turn away from the alley but froze.

'_**If you won't go, then I will.'**_ Ichigo felt it before it started. His hollow was trying to force it's way out of him, trying to take control. Ichigo immediately began to fight against his hollow self, determined to keep him at bay. _**'Don't fight it, King. It'll only get worse if you do.'**_

_Back off!_ Ichigo mentally shouted. He placed his hand against the wall of the building to steady himself as he struggled with his hollow. _I'm in charge, not you! So stay back! _Ichigo struggled for a few more minutes before he finally felt his hollow self receding back into the depths of his mind. He leaned against the wall for a few more seconds, panting, before straightening up.

'_**Eventually, I will take over, King. I will show you who's really in control.'**_

Ichigo didn't respond but turned and headed back to the rest of his group. Rukia turned to him as Renji and Rangiku spoke about where they should go first after Toshiro got back. She looked up at him, her eyes full of concern. "Are you alright?"

Ichigo nodded and kept his eyes on the ground. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little restless."

Rukia looked like she wanted to comment but before she could, Toshiro emerged from the building and approached them all, holding his money sack. "Hold out your sacks so I can put the coins in. Urahara said that we won't need much to get the sacks familiar with the Wizarding currency before it can produce its own." Everyone held out their sacks and he placed two of each coin into each sack before sticking his own into his pocket.

After eyeing the coins curiously, Rangiku looked down at her captain. "So where to first?"

Toshiro pulled out the map and studied it for a moment before putting it away. "We'll go to the wand place first, Ollivander's, it's called. It's at the end of the street. We'll go there first and then work out way back down to the bookstore on our way back to the Leaky Cauldron. And maybe we'll eat there before we head back to the house."

The others nodded and they headed down the street to Ollivander's, taking in as many of the shops as they could as they walked. They gave the passersby odd stares, which they received in turn at the sight of Toshiro's, Renji's, and Ichigo's hair colors and styles.

Renji glared at a couple of witches as they passed him, eyeing the black marks visible under his white bandana covering his tattoos. They quickly scurried passed and Renji scowled. "Nosy gaijin." He muttered in disdain.

"Technically, we're the gaijin, but I know what you mean." Toshiro said, giving a young couple an icy stare as they headed into a shop while constantly glancing over their shoulders at his snow white hair. "Let them stare; we won't be here long anyway. Just today and then the last week or so before the start of term. Once the year is over, we'll be long gone."

"That's true." Rangiku flipped her hair as a group of teenaged boys turned from a shop window to goggle at her. She smirked and pointedly turned away from them. "Human boys are so easy to amuse, even wizard boys. It's actually quite funny."

"Just don't offend anyone before we even move here." Toshiro said as he stopped in front of a shop with a wand in the window resting on a cushion. "This is it." Toshiro pushed the door open and entered, noting the soft sounds of a bell dinging somewhere overhead. The shop was cramped and dusty, shelves full of small rectangular boxes scattered around the room. A small stool stood next to a rather dusty looking counter and the Soul Reapers huddled together in the center of the room.

"This place is dusty with a capital D." Rangiku said, flinching away from one of the dusty shelves. "Not even bacteria would live here."

"I suppose that would be a good thing."

The Soul Reapers jumped at the voice and turned to see a tall, pale man standing on the other side of the counter, his white hair tousled and his misty white eyes that seemed to be able to look well beyond the surface. Toshiro suddenly had a horrifying feeling that this man knew what they were, or at least he could tell something was off about his new customers. However, if he did, he showed no signs as he walked around the counter and stood in front of Toshiro.

"I believe it is safe to assume that you are here for wands?" he asked in a soft voice.

Toshiro nodded. "Yes."

Ollivander nodded and turned before Toshiro could say more. "Yes, of course you are. Now why don't we see what I have for you, shall we? But first we must measure you. Which arm is your wand arm?"

Toshiro lifted up his right arm. "I can use both but my right arm is my dominant."

Ollivander pulled a small tape measure out of his pocket and started measuring Toshiro's arm, going from fingertip to shoulder before turning around to go through the rectangular boxes as the tape measure continued its job.

Ollivander shifted through the boxes on the shelves before pulling one out and over to Toshiro. "That's quite enough." He said and the tape measure slumped to the floor. "Here we are, let's try this one. Maple and unicorn hair. Seven and a half inches. Go one, give it a wave."

Feeling slightly skeptical, Toshiro raised the wand above his head and brought it swishing down in front of him. Immediately the counter in front of him collapsed, seeming to have been sliced in two and Toshiro raised an eyebrow before Ollivander yanked the wand away.

"Nope, not it at all." He placed the wand on the stool and turned to grab another. "Here, this one. Yew and phoenix feather, ten inches. Try."

Toshiro mimicked his earlier action and the shelf to his immediate left exploded, sending boxes of wands soaring around the room. Ichigo snickered.

"You're going to tear this place apart." He teased.

Toshiro scowled and raised the wand towards Ichigo, who tried unsuccessfully to duck behind Rukia, but before he could bring it back down, Ollivander pulled it out of his hand and placed another one in its place. "This one might be the one. Ebony and phoenix feather, eleven inches. Let's see."

Toshiro barely had time to raise the wand before it was suddenly snatched back from him. He turned and gave the man an exasperated glare.

"Not to worry, we will find one for you. I haven't had this tricky of a customer in quite a while." Ollivander seemed to be having the time of his life as he placed wand after wand into Toshiro's hand, only to snatch it back again with a shake of his head. "The wand chooses the wizard, you know."

Finally he placed one last wand into Toshiro's hand. "Cherry and dragon heartstring. Seven inches. Go on."

Toshiro raised the wand and immediately the room began to fill with the scent of cherry blossoms, even as a winter breeze blew around the room, carrying frosted snowflakes in a whirl around its caster.

Ollivander clapped his hands delightfully. "Oh, well done! I knew I would have the wand for you." He turned to the rest of the group. "Now, who's next?"

Rangiku shoved everyone out of the way and stepped up to Ollivander. "I am." She said. She turned to the others as they started to complain. "I'm Toshiro's second, so its only right that I go next." Toshiro sent her a warning look, which she missed but Ollivander didn't.

"Not to worry, everyone will get a turn. No one will be left out and I assure you, whatever happens in Ollivander's, stays in Ollivander's." he looked pointedly at Toshiro, who narrowed his eyes suspiciously, before proceeding with Rangiku.

When almost everyone had received a wand, Rangiku's being yew and phoenix feather, eleven inches, Rukia's birch and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, and Renji's redwood and phoenix feather, eleven and a half inches, Ollivander turned to Ichigo. "It seems you are the only one left."

"Yeah." Ichigo said.

Ollivander nodded and handed him a wand. "Beechwood and phoenix feather, nine inches. That's it."

Ichigo raised the wand and suddenly stepped back with a yell as the ceiling shattered, sending bits of wood scattering around where he had stood.

Ollivander took the wand back. "Obviously not. Here, maple and unicorn hair. Six inches." Ollivander barely placed the wand in Ichigo's hand before in sprang right back out again and fell to the ground, where it rolled under one of the shelves, as if hiding. "Oh, apparently not. Another tricky customer, eh? It must not be easy with two hosts." Ichigo shot Ollivander a startled look, and Toshiro gave Ichigo a questioning stare, both of which Ollivander dismissed and handed him a wand he had pulled from near the back of one of the shelves. "Try this one; mahogany and dragon heartstring, thirteen inches."

As soon as Ichigo's skin made contact with the wand, a sudden feeling that Ichigo could only describe as a power surge, coursed through his body as a silver lighting filled the room and surrounded Ichigo with a silvery aura-like fog.

Ollivander nodded solemnly. "Yes, this is definitely your wand. I am sure you will use it well." He gave Ichigo a piercing look, which Ichigo immediately didn't like, before turning to the group at large. "Now that everyone is sorted out, let us wrap this up, shall we?"

The group each paid seven gold galleons, with Ollivander's help with identifying which coin was which, and scrambled out of the small shop and back onto the street, where the warm sun and soft breeze seemed inviting after being inside for so long. Toshiro placed his new wand in one of the inner pockets of his jacket before turning to the others. "Now we just need to get the books from the shop _Flourish & Blott's_ and we'll be all set for now."

"Didn't I see an ice cream shop on that map?" Rangiku asked. "Why don't we go there first?"

"Yeah, I could use an ice cream." Ichigo said enthusiastically. "It's on the way, right?"

"How would you know?" Renji asked. "You didn't see the map, did you?"

Ichigo shrugged. "No, but I figured since this shop was at the end, and we would have to go back the way we came to get to the book store and the Leaky Cauldron, I would assume that the ice cream shop would be in that direction as well. So technically it's on the way to the bookstore."

Renji and Rukia stared at him but Toshiro shrugged. "I guess we can take a short break. We are moving a lot quicker than I had expected, so we have time."

"All right!" Rangiku started heading down the street and the others scrambled to keep up with her.

* * *

After spending fifteen minutes eating their ice creams at a table outside _Florean_ _Fortescue's_ _Ice_ _Cream_ _Parlor_ and looking around at all the shops and people surrounding them, the Soul Reapers finally got to their feet and head across the road to _Flourish & Blott's_. They entered the shop and turned to Toshiro.

"What were we looking for again?" Renji asked.

Toshiro pulled the list of supplies out of his pocket and scanned over the booklist. "We need _Intermediate Transfiguration, The Standard Book of Spells Grade 3 _by _Miranda Goshawk, The Monster Book of Monsters, _and _Unfogging the Future _by _Cassandra Vablatsky._"

He pulled another sheet of paper from his pocket. "**We** will also need _The Standard Book of Spells Grades 1 and 2, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, A History of Magic _by _Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory _by _Adalbert Waffling, One Thousand Magical Herb and Fungi _by _Phyllida Spore, Magical Drafts and Potions _by _Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by _Newt Scamander, _and _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by _Quentin Trimble._"

"That's a crap load of books!" Ichigo complained. "What the hell are we going to do with all of these books when we're done with them? It's not like we'll need them for next year."

"That's a lot of reading." Rangiku pouted, glancing around at all of the books on the shelves. "I wouldn't be able to finish even one of them. This is worse than paperwork back at the office." She glanced down at Toshiro. "Is it too late to change my mind?"

"Yes, it is." Toshiro said. "Relax, all of you. We'll only get one copy of grades 1 and 2 of the standard spells book, the beginning transfiguration book, the fantastic beasts book, and the guide to self-protection book. Those we will share and learn from at home. The history book, potions book, herbs and fungi book, and magical theory book are the only ones we will each need to get one of. Those are used throughout the entire seven years at Hogwarts, which is why the first list was shorter than the second. They're successive."

"That's still about eight books each." Ichigo grumbled with a scowl. "Thirteen for whoever is buying those other ones. That's more than what I use for each of my normal classes."

"I know, but like I said, those other books are successive. Most of the students already bought their copies of those books in their first years, so it probably doesn't seem like much to them." Toshiro shrugged, looking up and down the isles of bookshelves for any signs of where they should start. "We're new, so we need everything. We need to catch up to them before the term starts."

"Excuse me, may I help you?"

Toshiro turned to a tall thin man who had come striding over to the group. He gave their appearances a curious look but didn't comment. "Yes." Toshiro said with a nod. He handed the man the first list. "We need five copies of each book on this list, as well as five copies of every book circled on this one." He handed the man the second sheet of paper. "And one copy of every book that's not circled."

The man looked back and forth between the two sheets of paper, clearly at a loss. Then he looked at Toshiro and winced as he pointed at one of the titles. "You want **five** copies of the Monster Book of Monsters?" he asked in a trembling voice.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

The man whimpered but shook his head. "N-no, not at all. Just a moment, then." With a look as if he was walking to his death, the man grabbed a cane from beside the door and approached a large cage filled with books that were currently snapping at each other and ripping pages out of each other.

"Stop that, right now!" The man said as he prodded the books with the cane. "We just got these the day before yesterday." He pulled on a pair of thick leather gloves and reached into the cage and grabbed one of the books. Immediately the book attacked his covered hand, snapping ferociously. "Stop it, let go! Let go, I say!"

Toshiro grabbed the book from the man's hand, pulling the glove with the book. He clamped the covers shut with one hand and placed his fingers on the spine as it shook angrily. "Enough." He told it. The book froze and sat motionless in his hands.

"H-how…how did you do that?" the man asked, his eyes wide in shock as he looked at the book wearily, as if expecting it to start snapping any moment. "I have been trying to find some way to calm them ever since we got them. They already tore one book completely in half."

Toshiro shrugged and handed the glove back. "Perhaps they recognize authority. I've dealt with much worse, I assure you."

The man looked as if he wanted to question Toshiro but thought better of it and shrugged. "Well, in that case, would you be willing to get the others?"

The man looked so hopeful that Toshiro nodded piteously. The man sighed in relief and stepped back to allow Toshiro access to the cage. Toshiro reached in and grabbed one of the books, repeating his earlier action with the first one. When the book calmed, he handed it to Rangiku before repeating the action three more times and then closing the cage door and turning to the man. "Done."

The man shook Toshiro's hand gratefully. "Oh, thank you very much. For your help, each monster book will be half off for you." He glanced back down at the booklists. "Now let's get the other books you need, shall we?"

Thirty minutes and forty-five books later, the five Shinigami left _Flourish & Blott's_, each carrying a single bag full of the books that the shop keeper had shrank for them, free of charge. Toshiro glanced at his watch and then at his surroundings. "We have plenty of time now, so I think it's safe enough to look around and get a feel for where everything is for when we come back for everything else."

"Why don't we just get everything now?" Ichigo asked. "One of the books we got was for potions. I think in order to practice potion making, we'd need a cauldron and ingredients, right? Plus whatever else that's needed, like plants for the herbs class and whatever else there is."

Toshiro paused and glanced down to read the rest of supplies list. "'Other equipment: 1 wand, 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2), 1 set glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, and 1 set brass scales. Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.' I suppose you're right. We'll also need to visit that stationary shop because they don't use regular paper. They use something called parchment. And quills and ink."

"And we need robes and the rest of the uniforms." Rangiku said. "Why not just use **our** uniforms? They look the same, don't they?"

"Not really." Toshiro said. He glanced at a wizard sitting at an umbrella-covered table in front of a small café. "Their robes are quite different from our uniforms. I doubt it would be tolerable for us to wear them; plus I don't think it would be a good idea. We can't draw too much attention to ourselves."

"But their robes are horrible looking." Rangiku complained. Then her eyes brightened. "I know. When we get our robes, I'll fix them up so that they look much better and classier. Honestly, these wizards don't know the first thing about fashion."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "We're trying not to offend anyone. Keep that in mind."

"Yeah, yeah." Rangiku said absently, thoughts of how to modify their school uniforms already running through her head.

"We'll do robes and potions and anything else when we come back." Toshiro said. "For now, we need to worry about practicing these spells."

"But first, we can look around, right?" Renji asked. "I saw a joke shop down the street a ways. I want to check it out real quick."

Toshiro glanced at his watch again. "Fine, everyone meet back in front of _Gringotts_ in exactly one hour. Anyone who is late will be left behind."

"Got it." Rangiku said. The others agreed and everyone split up to explore.

"Don't buy anything without letting me know first!" Toshiro called to their receding backs. Several backwards waves were his answers.

* * *

An hour later, Ichigo sat on the steps in front of the wizarding bank, waiting for the others to show up. He glanced up and down the street, eating another ice cream while sifting through the bag of tricks he had bought from _Gambol & Japes_ joke shop. As he shifted through his bag, he couldn't help overhearing the conversation take place of a group of witches and wizards in front of the shop _Magical Menagerie_.

"Did you hear?"

"Yes, escaped, he did."

"But how-"

"-Supposed to be impossible."

"Can't believe that murderer is loose again."

"What are they doing over there?"

"Supposed to be guarding those prisoners."

"Some guards."

Ichigo turned his head in the direction of the voices. The group was staring at a picture taped to one of the windows of the shop, pointing and muttering, shaking their heads in disbelief and horror. Gathering his things, Ichigo stood up and headed over to stand behind the group and look at the picture. It was a wanted poster and Ichigo noted, with a bit of surprise, not that it was Sirius Black, but that his picture was moving, turning it's head from side to side and seeming to be shouting silently at the camera. The man was shaggy, rumpled and haggard, with a scraggly mane of shoulder length black hair and wild eyes.

_This is Sirius Black?_ He thought. _The guy looks like he belongs in a loony bin. How could he have escaped from a prison that was supposed to be guarded by soul sucking freaks?_

"Excuse me." Ichigo said, trying to catch the attention of one of the group members. "How was he able to escape? Wasn't he heavily guarded or something?"

"He was." A witch said, nodding vigorously. "Those Dementors were supposed to be all over his cell. But he was still able to escape and no one knows how."

"He's insane, is what he is." Said one of the wizards. "Killed a dozen muggles and one wizard with one shot."

"Was a big supporter of You-Know-Who." Another added.

"Perhaps he escaped to bring him back." Said a second witch. "He could be looking for You-Know-Who; wanting to bring him back."

"But he's dead." Said the first wizard. "Young Harry Potter killed him, remember?"

"Yes, he did." Said a third wizard to the first.

The group continued to chatter, their conversation slowly traveling from Sirius Black to Harry Potter to their days at Hogwarts. Ichigo walked away from the poster, deep in thought, when Toshiro tapped him on the arm.

"All right, Kurosaki?" Toshiro asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking about Sirius Black. They've got a wanted poster on that window over there with his picture on it." He pointed over his shoulder at the shop. "There was a group over there a few minutes ago and I was talking to them, trying to find out more about this guy."

"And?" Toshiro asked as the others came up around them. "Anything new?"

Ichigo shook his head. "Nothing we don't already know. He was a supporter of You-Know-Who; I'm assuming that's Voldemort. And he escaped from that wizard prison and no one knows how. Some of them think he is trying to bring back Voldemort, and they're all believing that he's completely gone."

"Figures." Renji said, rolling his eyes. He walked over to the window, the others following, and stared at the man on the poster. "He doesn't really look like a murderer. Just crazy."

"Did you notice his eyes?" Ichigo asked.

"What about them?" Renji asked, squinting his own eyes up at the poster.

"I'm not sure, but his eyes just don't look like someone on a murderer." Ichigo glanced at the poster again. "Something about them just doesn't scream 'killer' and I've seen plenty."

"You're right." Toshiro said softly. He glanced at the others, making eye contact with each of them in turn. "Perhaps there's more to this story that we thought. But don't say anything to anyone else. We don't want to raise suspicion or insult anyone about their beliefs. Let's keep this between us until we can figure more out."

"How cute!"

Toshiro and the others turned their attention to Rangiku, who was peering past the poster to a group of different colored puffballs in a cage on the other side of the window. Rangiku glanced at the others with a grin before running into the shop. Toshiro sighed and shrugged before he and the others followed her inside. The shop was crammed with an odd assortment of animals in cages and terrariums. Birds hopped around in their cages on one side of the shop and other animals roamed around in their cages on the other side.

Toshiro strolled around the shop, glancing wearily at the animals as they watched him pass curiously. He stopped in front of a long rectangular cage sitting on a table, full of tiny kittens, each one a different color, and stared down at them as they mewled and crawled over each other. A single kitten, the only white one of the group, sat separated from the others, looking at its companions in what Toshiro could only guess as scorn. Seemingly feeling eyes on itself, the kitten turned its head to look in Toshiro's direction, the light of the store gleaming gently off a small teal jewel shaped like a crescent moon embedded in its forehead between its eyes.

Blinking its large bright purple eyes slowly, the kitten stood up, stretched, and sauntered over to him with its tail held high in a dignified way. Toshiro watched in amusement as it sat on its haunches in front of him and turned its head to look at its companions before looking up at Toshiro with a look that clearly said 'Get me out of here.' With a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, Toshiro reached his hand down into the cage, palm up, and waited until the kitten had stepped on and sat comfortably in the middle before gently lifting his hand out.

"She's got an attitude, that one." Toshiro turned to the store keeper as she eyed the kitten with a slight frown. "She hasn't let a single person pick her up or touch her or anything since she was old enough to leave her mother. Seems to think no one is good enough. You're the first." She sniffed and glanced down into the cage and then back up to the kitten sitting comfortably in Toshiro's cupped hand, held gently against his chest as a sort of backrest for the kitten. "She tends to look down on the others, as if they are too childish for her to associate with. But she has spunk. She's tried a total of thirty-seven times to jump out of the cage, no matter how many times she misses or gets stuck or hurt. She really wants out."

Toshiro looked at the witch as she said the last bit and, as he had assumed by her tone, noticed that she was looking at him expectantly. "Are you suggesting something?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

The witch smiled. "Would you like to have her? She's extremely intelligent and very independent. She's got a sort of classy air about her and carries herself with the utmost dignity. But at the same time, if given the chance, she can be quite playful."

"Wow, she described you to a 'T', Toshiro." Toshiro and the witch turned to see Rangiku standing on the other side of the cage of kittens. She walked around to stand beside Toshiro and glanced down at his hand. "She's so cute. But she's an odd color."

Toshiro glanced back down at the curled up kitten and gave a small start as the once white kitten in his hand was now a soft shade of blue, like that of a robin's egg. "She's blue." He muttered softly.

"Of course." The witch said simply. She gave them a curious look. "You don't know what she is, do you? She's called a Persona Felinus, a personality cat, roughly. She's the only one of the rest of her litter that has been able to change her color at such a young age. She was just born a little under a month ago, yet she's already able to change her color. Normally their color changing abilities don't kick in until they are six to eight months. Basically, when she's content or peaceful, like she is now, she will be a soft blue, like you see here. When she's neutral, she's white, which is the color she usually is. When she's angry, she turns red, and so on and so on. I have a small slip of paper that goes with her that defines what each color means." She hesitated before repeating her earlier question. "Will you take her?"

Toshiro glanced down at the kitten in his hand again, contemplating. As if sensing his thoughts, the kitten raised its head and gave him an almost pleading look, gazing up at him with its round purple eyes and teal jewel. Finally, Toshiro nodded. "Alright, I'll take her. How much?"

The witch smiled at him and began walking back to the counter in the front of the shop. "She's 17 galleons, and that's including a months worth of feeding and a bed. If you plan on her being an indoor cat, she'll need a kitty box, which will cost another 6 galleons. And don't worry, she has all her shots and any other medical necessities."

Toshiro nodded and shifted the kitten to his other hand in order to reach into his pocket for his money bag. He pulled it out and produced 23 galleons, which he traded the witch for a bag of kitten food, a small kitty bed and a small kitty box, all stuffed into a single bag. Once he was finished, he and Rangiku exited the shop and approached the rest of their group standing in front of the poster once more.

"You bought a kitten?" Ichigo asked incredulously. "You, a kitten? Now I've seen it all."

Toshiro rolled his eyes but before he could respond, the kitten picked its little head up and a low growl emanated from deep within its throat as it glared up at Ichigo through eyes narrowed into slits. Its fur melted from the soft blue to a light pink to a deep red before finally settling back to blue and the kitten placed its head back down, resuming its peaceful nap. Toshiro smirked and Rangiku giggled.

"The kitten has the same personality as Toshiro." She said. "The shop keeper described the kitten's personality and it fit him perfectly. Right down to the mood swings." Toshiro glared at her. "So what are you going to name her? You can't call her 'the kitten' the whole time."

Toshiro glanced down at the ball of soft blue fluff in his hand before a name came to him. "Setsuna*, but Suna for short."

"Setsuna." Rangiku said thoughtfully. "I like it. Suna it is."

"We better get going." Toshiro said. The others nodded and slowly made their way through the crowds back towards the Leaky Cauldron, where they spent nearly an hour eating and talking about where they had gone during their exploring and what they had seen or wanted to buy when they returned. After they had finished, the five of them left the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London, where Toshiro used a payphone to call a cab. Then the five of them squeezed into the cab, keeping their unusually-shaped parcels in their laps until they reached their home in Little Whinging. As the others headed into the house, Toshiro turned and looked behind him at number four, where a certain thirteen year old, glasses-wearing young boy stood at the bathroom window of his home, waving a hand in Toshiro's direction. Toshiro lifted the hand that wasn't holding Suna or his bags and waved back before heading inside.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Again, sorry for the long update. Hope you'll forgive me with this long chapter. It took me forever to come up with a story for the kitten that would make sense with how I wanted to describe her and her abilities. Like a mood ring in the form of a cat! Haha. Hope I did okay. And yes, I'm planning on letting the others have pets too, maybe not as significant as Suna but not entirely sure yet. But yes, I will let them have pets. Just to be fair.**

_***Setsuna – Japanese name meaning "calm snow"**_


	9. Practice Almost Makes Perfect

**A/N: Chapter Nine is here! Hope it meets everyone's expectations. Sorry for the long delay but I had a hard time getting to the internet as well as A LOT of detail and research to do for these next chapters, as a lot of questions came up in the reviews regarding explanations for Ichigo and the others being in third year when they are obviously not thirteen. Well, Toshiro and Rukia can pass for thirteen, I guess. But Rangiku? Definitely not. But, fortunately, I went over the details in my head numerous times and decided to make it seem more like an actual background story. So I had to delve deep into the depths of my imagination (be lucky you didn't have to go in there; scary stuff. I almost didn't make it out alive) and created a background story for their cover, complete with made-up profiles that I have here on my computer as reference so I don't forget what I'm doing. I hope, when the time comes for everyone to explain their situation, as they most likely will once they meet Hermione, it meets your expectations and, most importantly, makes sense. But for now, here's chapter nine; nice and long and with a bit more Hollow Ichigo for everyone and a bit more humor. Hope I did okay!**

**Chapter Nine: Practice Almost Makes Perfect**

The next few days were spent hitting the books. Toshiro woke everyone at exactly nine o'clock Tuesday morning, ordering everyone to shower, in an orderly fashion, dress and meet in the living room with their wands and Charms textbooks, _Magical Theory._

"We'll be working on charms for the first week or so of practice." He told them. He paced in front of them as they sat on the living room couch. Ichigo looked bored while Rukia and Renji listened intently. Rangiku watched him but he could tell her attention was elsewhere by the glazed look in her eyes. "There are about six weeks between now and the day for us to move to the Leaky Cauldron and a total of three classes that require almost successive wand usage; Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Potions and Herbology we will work on when we get to the Leaky Cauldron, since we'll need the ingredients in order to make potions and we'll need to see the plants we are to learn about from the Herbology class, and History of Magic we will study here at the house on our own time; Care of Magical Creatures we will work on when we get to Hogwarts, since that class won't be introduced to any of the students in our year until we get there."

"We will spend all of this week and all of next week working on charms." Toshiro continued. "The two weeks after that, we will work on Transfiguration. Then the last two weeks will be spent practicing Defense Against the Dark Arts spells. We will be practicing for about three hours a day, every day; one and a half hours during the morning after breakfast, and then we will eat lunch, and then another hour and a half before dinner. It doesn't have to be consistently. You can take a break anytime between, as long as you make sure to practice. We can't afford to be too far behind. Also, in order to get you all used to the schedule set for all students, you will all be expected to wake up and be at breakfast between 7 and 7:50 am. Classes start at the school at 8 o'clock, so I will technically declare practice to start at 8. Lunch is at noon and dinner is at 7 pm. Free time is after dinner, as long as your practice is complete for the day. I'll be testing each of you; no practice, no meals."

"What?" Ichigo snapped.

"Taicho, you can't be serious! No food?" Rangiku exclaimed, momentarily coming out of her daze to gawk at her captain in horror. "That's not fair!"

"Neither is bringing the rest of us down because someone didn't bother to prepare for the mission properly like they were told." Toshiro snapped. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at each of them. "My orders are simple: you practice, you pass my mini-exams, you eat. You don't even have to have the spells down pat; as long as I can tell you at least _attempted_ to practice it. And I _**will**_ be able to tell. If you don't practice before lunch, you don't get lunch. If you don't practice before dinner, you don't get dinner; plain and simple. The same will be said for when we do Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. By the time we get to the Leaky Cauldron, you should be completely through years one and two of charms, compatible with first and second year Transfiguration, and compatible for first and second year Defense Against the Dark Arts; or at least as close to completion as possible. I'll test you on all of this the day before we leave for the Leaky Cauldron; anything you still need to work on, you can do at the school. I'm sure that not every student is good at every subject. You can use that as an excuse if you want. We can't afford to be too far behind in all of our classes. The less suspicion directed towards us, the better. Any questions?"

Rangiku raised her hand as she spoke. "What about the other stuff? Like the history stuff and the Potions stuff when we get to it? How are you going to test us on that?"

"I'll test your knowledge on the history." Toshiro explained. "It will be brief testing, since I know learning about the past isn't exactly easy, especially with such short time available to study it all. I just want to know who did what and when of at least…" He paused to think for a moment. "…ten different people or creatures. I'll want to know their names, what they did to get their stories in a history book, what year the event took place, and what significant outcome took place following the event. Or you can summarize an important event that is still being used in the magical world today. Or even something that happened in the past that was seen the muggle way but was explained differently the magical way. As long as you have ten of them. And you have to know them, not word for word, but at least enough so that if a teacher were to ask, you can give a reasonable explanation.

As for Potions and Herbology; Potions, I will test whatever you made, or attempted to make, and see how well you were able to make them, as well as how effective the potion turned out to be." Toshiro thought for a moment. "Herbology, I will test your knowledge of specific plants at random and see if you even know what to do with a specific plant. I skimmed through that book last night and I read about a plant called _Devil's Snare_. It's a plant that wraps itself around anything and everything, tightening it's grip like a snake. The more you struggle, the tighter it gets before it completely cuts off circulation or crushes its victims. A way to stop it and get it to let go is light. A flash of light like a stroke of lightning inside a room would distract it long enough to disentangle yourself if you're quick. Fire works best. So you need to know things like that, as well as some uses for some of the plants, medical or otherwise. Any other questions?" Everyone shook their heads.

"You'd be perfect as a teacher." Ichigo muttered with a scowl. "My math teacher is just as strict as you but at least she doesn't ban us from food. Mostly because it's illegal. So what happens if we decide not to practice at all? Are we not allowed to eat for the whole summer?"

"If you don't practice at all, then I'll send you back to Soul Society and let Head-Captain Yamamoto take care of you." Toshiro snapped. "Any other questions?" Ichigo rolled his eyes and shrugged, but otherwise remained silent.

"Right, now before you start, you can have half an hour to eat breakfast right now. Once breakfast is done, you have an hour and a half to practice before noon, which incase any of you decide to be smartasses, is at 12." Toshiro looked at his watch and then glanced back at his group. "After lunch, you have to use another hour and a half for more practice before dinner at 7. I don't care if you do it right after lunch or an hour and a half before dinner, as long as you get it done."

"Hey, I have another question." Rangiku said. "Who's cooking lunch and dinner? And breakfast?"

"Since I get up earlier than all of you, I'll do breakfasts, except for today. Today you're on your own." Toshiro shrugged. "The rest of you need to decide who makes dinner and lunch whenever. Or we can have a free-for-all and have everyone just make whatever for themselves. Your choice."

"I say we take turns." Rangiku said at once. "One person can do Mondays, another can do Tuesdays, and so on and so on. And then we can all pitch in on Saturdays and Sundays. That way each one of us cooks for one day and then the weekends. Even Taicho."

"I wouldn't mind that." Renji said thoughtfully. "One day out of the week will be one person's cooking day from now until we go to the Leaky Cauldron. And that way everyone will be earning their keep."

"Sound fine to me." Ichigo said shrugging.

"Me too." Rukia said. "But how should we choose who does what day?"

"Ooh, drawing lots!" Rangiku exclaimed. Quickly Rangiku ran up the stairs to her room and returned a minute later with five popsicle sticks clutched in her fist. "Okay, I bought these while in Diagon Alley in that junk shop near the end of the street. You'd be surprised with the stuff they have in there. Anyways, I bought them for the garden I'm going to be working on in the front yard. But with these, I wrote the letter of each day, Monday through Friday, on the end of each stick, mixed them up, and placed the written end in my hand. Everyone picks a stick and whatever letter you choose, that will be your designated cooking day. I'll take whatever is left in my hand so no one will accuse me of cheating or something stupid like that. Sound fair?"

"How will we tell the difference between Tuesdays and Thursdays?" Renji asked. "They both start with T's."

"Tuesdays will be Tu and Thursdays will be Th." Rangiku explained. She held out her hand clutching the sticks to Toshiro. "Taicho?"

Toshiro grabbed a stick at looked at the end. "I've got Tuesdays."

Rangiku nodded and continued passing the sticks out one at a time. Finally she was left with one stick and quickly glanced at it. "Right, I've got Thursdays. So, Monday is Renji, Tuesday is Toshiro, Wednesday is Rukia, Thursday is Ichigo and Friday is me. And then Saturday and Sunday will be all of us. Everyone happy? Good. And too bad if you're not. No changes, no trading. Decisions are final."

"Now that that's settled, go eat while you still have time." Toshiro said before anyone could argue about trading. "I meant what I said about skipping meals if you don't practice."

"How do we know **you're** practicing?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

"Would you like me to use each spell I learn on you?" Toshiro asked innocently. "I assure you, I have no qualms against it. Plus, I'll be using several spells to keep everyone out of the fridge, so that anyone who didn't practice can't sneak food. But if you really want to, I'll show you the spells I learn as demonstrations. Satisfied?"

Ichigo shrugged. "For now."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Good. Now go; you're wasting eating and practicing time with all your questions. And follow all instructions in the book." Toshiro watched them get up and head into the kitchen before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. _Day One. God help us all._

**BREAK**

Ichigo sat on his bed, leafing through the Charms textbook as he searched for his first spell. As he searched, he couldn't quite keep the shop keeper's words out of his mind when he gave Ichigo the wand. _'It must not be easy with two hosts.'_ How did he know? He couldn't know. He's not a Soul Reaper or anything. Did he really know? _Maybe he meant about my Zanpaktou's spirit._ He thought. _That's technically like having two hosts. But then he would have said the same thing about the others. He couldn't be talking about __**that guy**__, could he? It definitely sounded like it. But then how did he know? And if he was able to tell, who else would? This is bad. No one can know about __**him**__. I just need to practice as hard as I can to control him. There's no other choice. I have to keep him under control at all times and make sure no one, not the students, the teachers, and especially not Toshiro and the others, no one can know about this._

_**And why not? What's so wrong about me?**_

Ichigo jerked and turned his head to his door, making sure it was closed and locked before turning his attention back to his _other_ self. _Go away. _He mentally snapped. _I told you not to talk to me!_

_**Like you could get rid of me that easily. I told you I wouldn't stop trying, King. I will take over. It's only a matter of time. You WILL be the horse in this pathetic world of yours. Just you wait.**_

_Shut up already! There's no way I'm letting you take over!_

_**You won't have a choice once you let your guard down. And perhaps I could meet those wonderful little human children at that school you're going to. And full of so many magical toys I could use.**_

_Over my dead body!_

_**That can be arranged.**_

_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_ Ichigo clenched his fists against the sides of his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he mentally shouted at his hollow self. _Just leave me the hell alone! You're not getting out and that's that! Sorry to burst your bubble, but it looks like you're staying right where you are! And as soon as I figure out how to permanently keep hold of you, you can bet that I will lock you up and shove you to the deepest and furthest part of my mind._

_**You are so cruel, King. But no matter what you do, you can't control me. Your "teacher" was the one who awoke me in the first place, remember? If you hadn't wanted to save your little friend so badly, I probably wouldn't be here. So blame him. But regardless, you can bet that I won't go down without a fight. I promise you that…**_

Ichigo waited a few more seconds, making sure his hollow self had truly retreated before he sighed with relief and slumped back against the pillows stacked behind him. It was getting harder and harder to control his hollow self each time he pushed himself forward. Ichigo knew that eventually, if he didn't do something soon, he wasn't going to hold out much longer against him. _No! I won't lose to him! I __**will**__ keep control! I have to!_

Shaking his head furiously, he straightened back up and grabbed his textbook, leafing through. "This one looks easy enough. Just swish and flick. Shouldn't be too hard."

**BREAK**

The rest of the week passed in chaos. The first day, Ichigo had broken his window a grand total of seven times with the Levitation spell, with Toshiro putting the glass back together after he learned the spell for it, before Toshiro had him stop and start on another spell. Rukia turned out to be truly exquisite with _Charms_ after she got the hang of it. But the first time she used the Levitation spell, she sent her bed out the door and crashing into the wall across from her room. Renji nearly sent Rukia herself flying down the stairs when he tried to help her figure out how to get her bed back into her room. But Rangiku was the worst. The others soon found that Rangiku was dangerous with _Charms _and made sure to stay clear of her and her room when she practiced. The first day, she sent her bed soaring out of her room and down the stairs. After chasing it, she attempted to levitate it back upstairs but somehow missed her mark and sent the bed shooting right through the ceiling and directly into Toshiro's bedroom, knocking both Toshiro and Suna off of Toshiro's bed and onto the floor, inches from the giant hole in the floor with Rangiku's bed sticking half out. Needless to say, neither of them were pleased. Suna was down right spitting mad and was turning a violent shade of blood red and growling furiously.

After scooping Suna up in his arms, Toshiro had quickly cast his own Levitation spell and sent Rangiku's bed back into her room and then quickly skimmed through his textbooks, looking for a spell he had found earlier, and then quickly cast a _Repairo_ spell to fix the floor. After that incident, Toshiro made a point to learn every fixing spell, silencing spell, and any other spell he could that would help keep the house in one piece. Then he made sure to supervise Rangiku with her charm work. The last thing he needed was for her to suddenly send her bed or the house itself through the neighbor's living room window.

The rest of the week gradually got better, though Rangiku still hadn't completely gotten the hang of _Charms_. Rukia and Toshiro turned out to be near experts at it; Renji was slowly getting better but it was painfully obvious that _Charms_ was not his forte. Ichigo seemed to get more and more furious with the spells before picking up the object he was practicing on and throwing it out the door, cursing the stupid wizards for creating such complicated spells. It wasn't until half way through the second week that he started getting the hang of it, though still not up to Rukia's or Toshiro's level.

By Friday, everyone had progressed enough so that they were just finishing up the last few spells left to learn for first and second year. Toshiro's coaching seemed to help a great deal. On top of it all, Toshiro seemed quite please with himself for being able to complete nearly half of the paper work he had brought with him from the office. Eventually he was planning on purchasing an owl once they got back to Diagon Alley so he could send the completed papers to Urahara, who would, in turn, send them to Soul Society. Hopefully Urahara would send back more paperwork so that Toshiro didn't have so much to go back to once this mission came to a close.

While everyone worked, Rangiku sighed in a mixture of boredom and frustration and tossed her wand onto her bed and headed out into the hall and down the stairs to the kitchen to start dinner, since Fridays were her days. As she passed by the fridge, she glanced up at the calendar taped to the door of the freezer, each day crossed off as they came to a close. She paused and glanced at the date; according to the calendar, today was July 16th. Something about the days seemed to be nagging at the back of her mind. It wasn't today that was bothering her. Was it tomorrow? No, tomorrow felt like it would be any other day. What about yesterday? Yesterday was the 15th. Something about the 15th seemed to be significant some how. But why?

"July fifteenth… July fifteenth… I know there was something important about that day." Rangiku tapped her index finger against her chin before her eyes lit up. "That's right! July fifteenth! I knew it was something important! How could I forget? How could we all forget? Well, the others probably didn't know, and _he_ didn't say anything. But not to worry! I will take care of everything! Now what should I do first?"

**BREAK**

Toshiro looked up at the soft knock on his door. "Come in." he answered curtly. He watched at Rangiku poked her head in.

"Taicho, I just want to let you know that I'll be right back." Rangiku said softly, as though avoiding any eavesdroppers.

Toshiro narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?" he asked slowly.

"I have to get some things for dinner. It won't take long. I think I remember seeing a store near here and I need to go there real quick. I'll be right back, I promise." Rangiku turned and headed down the stairs before Toshiro could respond. A few seconds later, he heard the front door open and then shut and sighed as he glanced out the window, watching her run down the street and out of sight.

Toshiro glanced down at the kitten curled up in his lap. It lifted its head and peered up at him curiously. "What is she up to?" Toshiro asked it.

Suna merely blinked and resumed her nap, curling up further into his lap. About an hour later, Toshiro glanced up to see Rangiku return with a bag clutched in her arms, held tightly to her chest. Toshiro shook his head and continued reading through the history book. "I don't think I want to know." he muttered.

**BREAK**

Ichigo tossed his textbook on the floor and plopped his wand down at the end of his bed. "Finally, I'm done. I hate charms."

He glanced at the alarm clock on his night stand as he got off the bed and stretched. "Almost time for dinner. Wonder what we're having this time?" After taking another stretch, Ichigo walked out of his room at the same time that Renji emerged from his.

"Is it just me, or does something smell sweet to you?" Renji asked.

Ichigo sniffed the air before nodding. "It does. Rangiku cooks tonight; I wonder what the heck she's making."

Renji shrugged and started heading down the stairs. "I don't know but I don't think Toshiro will like it. I heard a rumor in Soul Society that Toshiro can't stand sweets. I have a feeling that if dinner is as sweet as it smells, he might ban her from kitchen duty. Either that or he'll just ban her from touching anything with sugar."

"No offense, but he looks like a kid. How can he not like sweets, even a little?" Ichigo asked.

Renji shrugged again. "Beats me. That's just what I heard. Yet, I also heard that Ukitake gives him candy sometimes. So I'm not really sure."

Before the two of them could get to the door to the kitchen, Rangiku burst out and shoved them both back. "No, not yet! I'm not done yet! Stay out here until I say otherwise. Especially you." She said, pointing a finger at Ichigo. Then she turned on her heals and headed back into the kitchen. A second later, she poked her head out. "And stay out of the dining room as well. I mean it. I'll use a charm on you."

"Well, that's odd." Renji muttered. He turned to Ichigo. "What did you do?"

Ichigo shrugged and went to sit in the living room. "Who knows? Girls tend to get mad over the stupidest things. I bet if I asked, she'd probably talk to me like I'm supposed to know, when I obviously don't. Best to just wait it out."

"But then why am I in trouble?" Renji asked indignantly. "I didn't do anything."

"Of course not." Said a sarcastic voice.

Renji and Ichigo turned their heads to see Rukia walking away from the stairs and over to them. "What's that supposed to mean?" Renji asked huffily.

"Nothing." Rukia said with a shrug. She glanced at the kitchen and dining room doors. "So why are you two out here?"

"Rangiku won't let anyone in." Renji answered after Ichigo shrugged. "We don't know why. She just said that she wasn't ready yet and to stay out unless she says otherwise. She said she'd use a charm on anyone who tries to go in the kitchen or the dining room."

"Is that a fact?" Toshiro entered to room, his arms crossed over his chest and his nose wrinkled in distaste. "Something smells unbearably sweet."

Renji looked pointedly at Ichigo, who raised an eyebrow curiously. Just then, Rangiku burst through the kitchen and headed over to them. "Okay, you can go into the dining room now. Dinner's already served, so just go in and don't rip or pop anything." Then she headed back into the kitchen.

"Rip or pop?" Renji said as he and the others headed to the dining room. "What's that supposed to – **what the hell?**"

The dining room was full of blue, yellow, green, purple and black streamers threaded through the backs of the chairs and across the ceiling and walls. A white and yellow checked table cloth had been draped over the table. Green, white, red, yellow and orange balloons floated across the ceiling and a single balloon hung, tied, to the back of each chair, except for one. The odd chair out, Ichigo's chair, had a single balloon tied to the back of his chair, different from the others. The balloon was black and made out of foil instead of rubber like the other balloons. There was confetti decorated all over the balloon and across the front and back, in big yellow letters, were the words "_Happy Birthday_" written across.

Rangiku walked out of the doorway leading from the kitchen to the dining room with a smile on her face. "Guess what yesterday was? It was Ichigo's birthday yesterday! July 15th. I'm so glad I remembered. It's a little late but better late than never. What are you guys waiting for? Let's eat." Rangiku sat down in her seat and began placing food onto her plate.

Everyone else turned to Ichigo, who stood rooted to the spot with his eyes wide and face burning a bright red. Rukia smirked and nudged him forwards, snapping him out of his momentary stupor. He shook his head slightly and scowled as he headed to his seat, avoiding eye contact. He knew the others were watching him, he could feel their eyes on him. How embarrassing! Not only did a girl he hardly even know remember his birthday, but she had thrown him a party as well. And how the hell did she even find out his birthday anyway? He himself barely remembered until half way through the day yesterday, when his sisters had sent him birthday cards in the mail. And he certainly didn't tell anyone about his birthday. How did she know? And why the heck was everyone staring at him? Okay, his face was probably as red as Toshiro's cat was when Rangiku nearly killed it when she sent her bed soaring through the ceiling, but so what? Theirs would be too, if she had done this to one of them. And to make such a big deal about it was even worse.

"So, yesterday was your birthday?" Renji asked with a laugh. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah, we would have gotten you a present while we were at Diagon Alley last week." Rukia chimed in. She turned to Rangiku. "How did you know?"

"I read his file." Rangiku said simply. She shrugged. "It's all there; his birthday, blood type, age, height, weight, you know."

"You read my file?" Ichigo asked furiously. Then he paused. "Wait, I have a file?"

"Everyone has a file." Toshiro answered. "Including us Soul Reapers. But after I found out who was going to be on my team, I pulled everyone's files to find out more about you all. Especially you, since I didn't know squat about you other than you breaking into Soul Society and breaking every rule in the process. And getting a bunch of others to break rules as well during your stay; including a few Soul Reapers."

Renji and Rukia looked down sheepishly, as they were some of the 'few' who had broken rules. Ichigo shrugged. "I did what I had to."

"Right, well I saw the files, so I decided to skim through them." Rangiku said. "And that's how I found out about your birthday. I forgot yesterday, but when I saw the calendar on the fridge earlier, I remembered."

"Should we start singing?" Renji asked with a smirk.

Ichigo shoved his fork in Rukia's direction as she opened her mouth and glared at everyone on the table. "Don't you dare! No singing! Besides, according to Rangiku, she saw **everyone's** files, which means she knows everyone else's birthdays too, right?"

Rangiku nodded. "Yep. And I'm planning on throwing a party for every single one of you. And when we get to Hogwarts, I'll have the whole school pitch in for anyone whose birthday is during the time we're there."

"What!" Renji yelled, horrified. "You can't be serious!"

"Well, your birthday is during the time we're at the Leaky Cauldron, so I'll just have everyone there help me." Rangiku said.

"You will not!" Renji shouted, his face turning pink. "Don't you dare! How would you like it if we did the same to you?"

"She'd love it." Toshiro said with a scowl. "Her birthday takes place while we're at the school, so most likely she'll be throwing herself a party."

"Of course." Rangiku said. "What's a birthday without a party? And cake? Oh, that reminds me."

Quickly Rangiku got up and headed into the kitchen. "She didn't." Ichigo said in horror.

"She did." Toshiro said, wrinkling his nose at the colossal smell of sugar.

A moment later, Rangiku emerged from the kitchen carrying a large plate covered with a big metal lid. "It finally cooled down. I think this is my best work yet." She set the plate down in the center of the table and lifted the lid. Underneath, sitting grandly on the plate, was a large round cake covered in light blue icing and scattered with rainbow sprinkles and thin strings of chocolate syrup crisscrossing all over the cake. _'Happy Birthday Ichigo'_ was scrawled out in swirly brown letters using the chocolate syrup and a ring of unlit candles decorated the outer edges of the cake. "Sixteen candles. The cake is strawberry but with chocolate pudding in the middle. You're kind of unusual, so I decided to make everything else unusual. I don't think a strawberry cake with chocolate pudding filling is normal, but that's okay. Now let me go get the ice cream. I'll let it thaw out while we finish eating."

Ichigo groaned and placed his burning face in his hand as Rangiku headed back into the kitchen. Toshiro cringed at the sight of the sugary monstrosity. How could anyone eat that much sugary sweetness? Yachiru would definitely have a field day if she saw it, and most likely she and Ukitake would try to get him to eat some. He shuddered, not at all eager to put that toothache-to-be in his mouth. Ice cream, maybe. But the cake? Uh, no.

Renji turned to Ichigo. "I won't sing here if you don't sing at the Leaky Cauldron." He said desperately.

Ichigo looked up at him. "Deal."

"How long does the school year go?" Rukia asked Toshiro.

"It lasts until June of next year." Toshiro answered.

Rukia winced. "That means she's going to throw a party for me too. I hope not."

"And what's a party without sake?" Rangiku sang as she returned to the kitchen with several bottles. She placed one in front of each person and then placed the metal lid back over the cake and resumed her seat. "Now let's finish eating so we can get this party started!" Everyone who wasn't Rangiku groaned.

**BREAK**

Saturday morning found Ichigo facing off with Renji in a heated battle of rock-paper-scissors. "3-3 wins and the loser goes grocery shopping with Rukia." Renji said.

"Fine." Ichigo said. "One, two, three!"

"Ha, I won!" Renji exclaimed.

"Again." Ichigo snapped. "One, two, three!'

"I won again!" Renji cried.

"One more time!" Ichigo snapped. "One, two, three!"

"Three times, I win!" Renji shouted. "I win! Looks like you have to go shopping."

"Damn it!" Ichigo yelled, slamming his fist against the wall and leaving a considerable dent. "I hate this game!"

Renji chuckled. "Man, you suck at this game. Better not quit your day job."

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped. He stood up and stomped upstairs, still feeling the after effects of the stomach ache last night's cake and ice cream had created for all of them. Ichigo slouched into his room and grabbed his shoes, shoving them angrily onto his feet before heading back down to the living room and grabbing his jacket from the peg by the front door. "Let's go." He snapped at Rukia as she scrambled down the stairs.

She paused and blinked at him. "You're coming?"

"Well, I don't exactly have much of a choice." Ichigo muttered.

Rukia looked at Renji, who stood smirking at Ichigo, before turning back and smirking herself. "I take it you lost at rock-paper-scissors."

Ichigo scowled and headed out the door. "Hurry up or I'll leave you here and go by myself."

**BREAK**

Harry sauntered out the front door and headed down the street, going in the direction of the park. The past week sucked worse than anything else he had ever experienced so far. Not only did his uncle threaten to get rid of Hedwig again, even going so far as to start looking for a place to dump her, but Toshiro, his only muggle friend in this poor excuse for a neighborhood, hadn't stopped by for a visit since the night he came back from main London. Harry had no idea what they bought that would cause the whole group to be gone for so long, though the oddly-shaped packages they had returned with had seemed very familiar to Harry. But honestly, he didn't care one way or another, because Toshiro still managed to visit Harry late at night. They weren't able to talk much without waking up the Dursley's but at least Harry didn't feel quite so alone. And Toshiro hadn't left until late at night; or was it early in the morning?

Now, however, it had been nearly two weeks since he had visited and Harry could seriously use the company. Especially since Dudley had become restless and had called his friends over to hang out and torment Harry. Dudley had told Harry that he would give him a five minute head start before they played Dudley's favorite game, _Harry Hunting_. Harry had been tempted to hide at Toshiro's house, since there wasn't a doubt in Harry's mind that Dudley wouldn't be able to find him there, but it just didn't feel right to go to Toshiro's house when it felt as if he was avoiding Harry. Was he avoiding him? It certainly felt like it. But why? Did Harry do something wrong? Did he suspect Harry of keeping a secret? Did he know what Harry was?

As Harry continued to ponder the sudden behavior change of the boy across the street as he turned the corner onto Wisteria Walk, he failed to notice the group of boys exit Number Four and head in his direction. Harry was just heading into the alley that led from Wisteria Walk to Magnolia Crescent when a loud voice floated from behind him.

"Hey, freak! Your five minutes are up!"

Harry didn't need to turn around to see who had shouted. He knew that voice from almost anywhere. Without turning around, Harry sprinted into the alley and ran as fast as he could, through the alley and down Magnolia Crescent, eager to put as much distance between himself and his massive cousin as possible. And the best way for that was to get to the park.

**BREAK**

Ichigo leaned against the store's doorway, his arms crossed and his signature scowl planted firmly on his face. He was bored, damn it, and Rukia seemed to be taking her sweet time paying for their items as she made small talk with the young over-friendly sales lady. At first Ichigo didn't mind helping grab stuff off of the shelf and toss them into the hand-held basket Rukia carried, but he had gotten irritated when the sales lady had commented, asking Rukia how she had managed to rope her boyfriend into helping with the grocery shopping. And no matter how many times Ichigo told her they weren't a couple, the lady didn't seem to listen, instead waving his words away and dismissing his behavior as nothing more than immature male shyness. And it irritated the crap out of Ichigo.

"Have a good day, you two." The sales lady said through her giggles as she waved Rukia and Ichigo out the door.

Ichigo scowled and Rukia smiled and waved back until they were clear from the store. Then Rukia sighed and shook her head with a frown. "If I had to listen to that silly lady talk about one more romantic dating scenario, I don't think I would have been able to keep from swinging the shopping basket at her silly head." She muttered.

"Then why did you spend so much time talking to her?" Ichigo asked. "All you were doing was encouraging her."

"Because, Toshiro told us to keep a low profile when out in public." Rukia explained in a low voice. "This neighborhood doesn't strike me as the kind that houses overly rude or antisocial people. If we acted like that, we'd stick out like a sore thumb. And bashing someone's head in for talking too much isn't exactly helpful."

"It works for me." Ichigo muttered. He and Rukia turned the corner and started through the park, heading to Magnolia Road. "I know that gibberish people spout about violence never solving anything, but it seems to work wonders for me."

_**Me, too.**_

Ichigo froze, his eyes narrowing as a sudden pressure formed on the top of his skull, a pressure unbearably familiar. Immediately, Ichigo began mentally fighting back, struggling to keep his hollow self from getting free and taking over his body. _No!_ He thought furiously. _Get back! I mean it! You're not getting out!_

_**Don't struggle, King. You wouldn't want to damage your fragile mind. Just give in; you'll feel much better once you do.**_

_No!_

"Ichigo?" Rukia asked. She had stopped when she realized Ichigo was no longer beside her and now, looking back, she noticed a sort of pained look in his eyes, as though he were struggling with something extremely difficult. But what, she wasn't sure. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He said in a strangled voice. "Here." He handed her the bag he carried, not attempting to move any more than that. "Go back without me. I need to be alone for a while."

"But Ichigo-," Rukia began.

"Just go." He growled through clenched teeth. "I'm fine. I just need to be alone right now. Seriously. Just go. I don't care if you tell Toshiro where I am or whatever, just leave."

Rukia hesitated for another few seconds, searching Ichigo's face for any sign that he was lying about being okay, before she nodded solemnly and headed the rest of the way across the park and out of sight. Once she was gone, Ichigo carefully walked over to one of the picnic tables and sat down, never once breaking his concentration.

_**Let me out!**_

_No!_

_**You can't keep me contained forever, you know.**_

_I don't have to do this forever! Just until I can get a better hold on you._

_**That's impossible, King. You're not strong enough for that and you know it. You know you're too weak to control me. You're too weak to even control your Zanpaktou's spirit. Look how long it took you to learn it's name. You're weak. And you know it. Just give in and LET ME OUT!**_

_No._ Ichigo clenched his fists, his knuckles going white, and placed them against the sides of his head, near his ears, as if he could block the others' words that way. _No!_ Ichigo shook his head, using all his mental strength to push back as darkness crept into the corners of his eyes. _NOOOO!_ With one final shove, Ichigo managed to push his hollow self back into the depths of his mind.

_**I will get out, King. Don't get too comfortable being in control. You won't be for long…**_

Ichigo pushed himself off of the bench and fell to his knees in the grass, panting. He could feel a layer of sweat across his brow and shakily whipped it away with the back of his sleeve. This had been almost as difficult as the last few times while he was in Soul Society. He almost lost control this time. He needed to find a way to get complete control of his hollow self, and he needed to do it fast. But for now, he needed to find some way to blow off some steam.

Surging to his feet, Ichigo began his walk through the park, too distracted to notice the voices and sounds of pounding feet heading in his direction until a something collided with him, sending him sprawling backwards with the something landing on top of him. Ichigo sat up and glared at whatever had knocked him over, noting a head of messy black hair against his chest. The head lifted and Ichigo found himself looking into bright green eyes, hidden behind round black framed glasses. Ichigo knew he recognized this person and when his eyes traveled up to the kid's forehead and he took in the thin lightning shaped scar, he knew who he was. "Harry Potter?"

**A/N: I'm deciding to leave it here. Don't worry, the next chapter is already written and will be posted by tomorrow at least. Just warning you guys that chapter ten is extremely long. Probably my longest chapter ever; a total of 28 pages. But I want to give you guys a chance to read and review this one first before posting the next one. And then there will be one more chapter before they finally get to Hogwarts, which is just about finished. But for now, what did you think so far? Interesting enough for ya? Hope so. Don't hesitate to let me know what you guys think! Until next time!**


	10. Harry

**A/N: I meant to upload this tomorrow but I won't be in town for the weekend and I know you guys really want to read more chapters so I'm posting it now. It's early, but at least you don't have to wait as long as before. The next chapter will take a while to go up because of the details I still need to put in, but at least you got these last two so quickly to hold you over. Thank you.**

**A Quick Question: one of my wonderful reviewers, who shall be nameless unless they say otherwise, told me that Renji's birthday is in January but at the end of volume nine, in the character profiles, it says it is in August. It also says that on the Bleach wiki website. But I'm not sure which is correct. Could some one please let me know which is right? Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Just a reminder that I do not own Bleach, its characters, or any scenarios mentioned that happened in the original story arcs. I also do not own Harry Potter, its characters, or any scenarios mentioned that happened in the original story arcs. I own whatever is made up by me. Including Toshiro's cat.**

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**Chapter Ten: Harry**

"D-do I know you?" Harry asked. Then his eyes widened. "You're one of them. One of Toshiro's friends, right?"

Ichigo nodded and gently pushed the smaller boy off of him. "Yeah, something like that."

Harry scrambled off of him and stood up, offering his hand to help Ichigo to his feet. "Sorry. I didn't mean to knock you over. I was just-"

"Where are you, freak?"

Harry froze and turned to face the way he came, instinctively backing up. "You better go." He said to Ichigo. "If Dudley catches me with you, we'll both be in trouble."

"Dudley's your cousin, right?" Ichigo asked as the sound of running feet got closer.

Harry looked up at him with startled eyes. "Yeah, how did you know? Did Toshiro tell you?"

Ichigo didn't answer, instead grabbing Harry by the arm and turning him around, twisting his arm roughly behind his back and making Harry yelp in pain. "Hold still!" Ichigo shouted loudly. "If you struggle, I'll break your arm!"

Harry froze, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. What was going on? Why was he doing this? Had Dudley already recruited him into his gang? Had Harry walked right into a trap? Before Harry could think any further, Dudley and his gang rounded the corner and froze, taking in Harry, his face contorted in pain, and Ichigo standing behind him with one hand against Harry's back, obviously holding Harry's arm in place.

"What the hell are you punks staring at?" Ichigo shouted. "Can't you see I'm busy here?" He gave Harry's arm a firm yank, making Harry cry out in more pain and causing Ichigo to shake him roughly. "Quiet, you, or I'll really give you something to cry about!"

"You can't do that!" Dudley yelled at Ichigo. "He's **my** cousin, so he's ours! We got dibs!"

Ichigo cackled loudly, throwing his head back with a nasty sneer on his face. "You've got dibs, eh? Well, in that case, it looks like I'll need to eliminate the competition then, don't it?"

Ichigo roughly shoved Harry to the ground and placed a foot on his chest. "You stay here. If you so much as wiggle, I'll bash your skull in." He grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt and lifted him up, bringing his face inches from Harry's. He glared at him threateningly. "Got it?"

Harry nodded, too terrified to speak. This kid couldn't be one of Toshiro's friends. He wasn't just mean; he was evil. He threatened to kill Harry. He was a murderer. There was no way Toshiro would be friends with him. Toshiro was too nice. Maybe this kid bullied Toshiro too? But Harry didn't say anything. He knew by now that talking back to a bully did no good. It was best to just stay quiet.

Ichigo shoved Harry back to the ground and turned to face Dudley and his gang, a nasty grin spreading across his face. "Now, gentlemen. Let's dance."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Dudley and his gang ran out of the park, all of them bruised and terrified but otherwise unharmed. Ichigo smirked as he lazily blew on his knuckles, as if blowing off any dust or human bits. Once they were out of sight, Ichigo turned and looked down at Harry, who was curled up in a fetal position with his sore arm held protectively against his chest and eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.

Suddenly Ichigo burst out laughing and slumped to the ground, placing a hand over his stomach as he lay on his back in the grass. "Man, that was hilarious! Did you see the way they ran? Like a bunch of fat chickens being chased by a wolf. And their faces; priceless!" Ichigo sat up and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, still chuckling as he turned to Harry. "That was fun."

Harry blinked. What just happened? As suddenly as this guy had turned from nice to mean, he had suddenly changed from mean to nice. What was with this guy? Harry stared at him, thoroughly confused, and watched as he turned his head towards the direction Dudley and his gang had gone before turning his head back to Harry with a grin, this one friendly and cheerful instead of mean and menacing.

"Did I scare you?" Ichigo asked with a chuckle. He held out a hand and Harry flinched. "Sorry. I just had to make it look convincing and if I had told you what I was going to do before I did it, your reaction wouldn't have been as convincing if it wasn't sincere."

Harry hesitated before tentatively taking the other guy's hand with his good arm. "I think I understand. So, um, you're not going to hurt me then?"

Ichigo shook his head. "Nah. Not unless you seriously piss me off. But even then, I guess I wouldn't. Especially since Toshiro would kick my ass if I did."

Harry raised an eyebrow and couldn't help blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "How could he do that? He's like half your size."

Ichigo snickered. "I know. But your cousin on the other hand…" Ichigo let the idea create itself. "Anyway, I know your name but you obviously don't know mine. I'm Ichigo."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar name. "Itchy go?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I forgot you gaijin can't pronounce our names. It's pronounced 'Ee-chee-go', spelled I-c-h-i-g-o with the letter I's pronounced with the E sound. Get it?"

"Yeah." Harry said, wondering what in the world a 'guy-geen' was. "So, Ichigo, did you have to pull so hard?" He asked as he massaged his aching shoulder and forearm.

Ichigo blinked and shrugged. "Sorry. Didn't mean to pull that hard. But like I said, I wanted to make sure it was convincing, including genuine pain and fear. By the way, they think I'm going to beat you up. You can't exactly go home seemingly unscathed, now can you?"

Harry's eyes widened in horror. "I thought you weren't going to hurt me." He said almost pleadingly.

"I'm not. Relax, geez." Ichigo rolled his eyes. He pushed himself to his feet and reached down to pull Harry up by the back of his over large shirt. "Come on."

Harry hesitated a moment before following along after him. Ichigo dragged him back to the store he had been to earlier with Rukia. Then he stopped and pulled his money bag out of his pocket. He fished out some money and handed it to Harry. "The lady in the store already saw me once today and she's a pain in the ass. So I want you to go in there, go to the far isle with the make-up and grab a small plastic rectangle container with a brown square, a purple square and a red square. And grab a small bag of cotton balls. I know they're there because I saw them earlier. Get them and bring them out here. Got it?"

"Yeah, but I can't buy make-up." Harry said indignantly, his cheeks tinting pink. "I'm a boy. It would look weird."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Just pretend you're buying it for your mother or something. It's not that hard, I've done it a few times for my own mom when I was younger. Just say your mom is busy and wants you to buy them for her."

"But –"

Ichigo growled and lightly smacked the back of Harry's head. "Just do it, damn it! Unless you want real bruises, a real black eye and a real bloody nose."

Harry sighed and headed into the store, rubbing the back of his head as he did. He headed to the isle he had been instructed to and was a bit surprised to find the mentioned items quite easily. Grabbing the intended items, Harry quickly made his way back to the front of the store and paid for the items. He was surprised that the lady had asked if his mother was making him run errands for her, as Ichigo had obviously expected her to. "Yeah, she's busy at home right now and asked me to do it." He told her.

"That's nice of you." She said as she handed him his change and placed the items into a back before handing them to him. "Have a good day."

"You too." Harry said as he headed out the door.

"Finally." Ichigo snapped as Harry approached him. "What is it with you people and making small talk with everyone? First Rukia does it and now you."

_Who?_ "I was trying to be polite." Harry said as he handed Ichigo the bag and followed him back to the park. He wasn't sure he liked Ichigo too much. He was different; blunt and a bit rude. But then again, Toshiro had kind of been like that too. Maybe it was a Japanese thing.

"Whatever." Ichigo led him to the picnic table he had stopped at earlier and sat on the table with his feet on the bench. "Okay, come here and sit down."

Harry sat down on the bench beside Ichigo's legs and turned to him. Ichigo reached down and took his chin in his hand, tilting his head up and turning it this way and that, examining his face. "What are you doing?" Harry asked.

Ichigo didn't respond; he nodded to himself and let him go. Then he reached into the bag and pulled out the bag of cotton balls and the make-up. He opened the container and then the cotton balls and pulled one out. He placed the cotton ball onto one of the squares and then placed the same cotton ball onto another square, mixing the colors, before turning to Harry and tilting his face up again. "Don't move and don't speak." He instructed. Then he started gently dabbing at Harry's lower eyelid, softly smudging the dark powdery stuff along his skin.

After Ichigo finished with his eye, he continued along Harry's cheekbone, occasionally adding more powder to the cotton ball, and then pausing to move down and repeat the process against the side of Harry's neck and along one side of his jaw line. Once he finished, he placed the cotton ball on the table and grabbed another, adding colors to it and then reaching down and grabbing the wrist of the arm he had twisted earlier and pushing the sleeve of his large t-shirt up to his elbow and adding the dark smudges along the marks his fingers had made when he had grabbed him.

"Okay, now lift up your shirt." Ichigo said as he applied more powder to the cotton ball.

"My shirt?" Harry asked in confusion. "Why?"

Ichigo looked at him like he was an idiot. "Because if I was going to beat you up, I wouldn't stop with just your face, you know. If I really wanted to beat you up, I would have slugged you in the stomach and maybe along the ribs. I'd probably even break a few for good measure, you know?"

"Oh." Harry said. Silently he turned his body to face Ichigo and lifted his shirt up, exposing his smooth stomach and ribs.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow before he started adding the powder to Harry's stomach, slowly forming the shape of a fist. "Don't you eat? I can see your ribs through your skin."

Harry started to shrug before stopping himself as he remembered Ichigo telling him not to move. "Sometimes. I don't eat too often if my aunt and uncle can help it. Especially if I get in trouble. Then I get sent to my room without food and I have to wait for everyone to go to sleep before I can sneak down for food. But I'm *_gasp_* used to it."

Ichigo paused and narrowed his eyes at him. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "Nothing."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and resumed adding the powder, this time along his lower ribs. "Then hold still."

Harry tried to hold still but it was becoming extremely difficult with Ichigo rubbing the cotton ball along his ribs. He bit his lower lip to keep from laughing and turned his head away, trying to find something else to grab his attention. Before he could focus on any one thing, Harry yelped and his body instinctively jerked backwards as Ichigo rubbed the cotton ball along the bottom edge of his lower rib. Harry shoved his shirt down and blushed, avoiding looking Ichigo in the eye.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Ichigo snapped. He frowned at Harry, noting the pink tint to his seemingly bruised cheek and the way he kept biting his lower lip. Adding those facts to the way he reacted while Ichigo applied the powder to his _ribs_, Ichigo realized what was wrong and rolled his eyes. "Oh, I see. Why didn't you tell me it tickled? I would have been more careful, probably."

Harry shrugged. "Sorry. I couldn't help it."

Ichigo rolled his eyes again. "Well, whatever. It's good enough, I guess. Just one more thing." Ichigo placed the power and the cotton ball down on the table and pulled off a small sliver of wood from the edge of the table top. Then he pulled up Harry's arm and, before Harry could react, Ichigo sliced the sliver along Harry's arm.

"Ow!" Harry cried as he tried to jerk his arm back. Ichigo held on and examined the inch long cut he had just created along the inside of his forearm below the 'bruises' he fingers made. "What was that for?" Harry demanded.

"Oh, hush." Ichigo snapped. "You complain worse than my twelve year old little sister." Ichigo pinched the area around the cut, causing it to bleed more and then used his index finger to scoop up some of the blood and dab it under Harry's nose, despite Harry's protests. "There. Done."

He stood up and pulled Harry to his feet. Then he ripped off a piece of Harry's shirt from the bottom and rolled it up into a ball before placing it on the table. "Now what are you doing?" Harry asked exasperatedly. He figured it did no good to tell him to stop. Ichigo seemed to like doing things his way and no amount of protesting would help change his mind.

"You can't go home looking like your body got beat up but your clothes remain in one piece." Ichigo said as he ripped off half of Harry's sleeve, exposing the fake bruises and cut along his forearm. Then he ripped a hole into the front of his shirt, making sure to expose some of the bruises along his stomach. Then he stood back to examine his handiwork. "That should do it. Come here." He picked up the used cotton balls and tossed them into the trashcan beside the picnic table and collected the rest of the cotton balls and the left over powder and headed towards the public bathrooms.

Harry trudged along, feeling that Ichigo wasn't giving him a choice, and followed him into the bathroom. Ichigo pulled him in front of the mirror and Harry's eyes widened at the sight of himself. He really did look as if he had been beaten up. He was sporting a well-made shiner and a nice-looking bruise along his right cheekbone. Another good bruise lined his lower right jaw and the blood under his right nostril did look convincing. The 'bruise' along his jaw continued down under his chin and another bruise marked along the side of his neck, making him look as if he had been grabbed by the neck. Harry lifted up his shirt and gazed at his discolored skin in the mirror. His ribs and stomach definitely looked bruised and looked quite nasty. Harry almost winced at the sight. He turned and looked at Ichigo, who looked rather pleased with himself.

"How did you do that?" he asked in awe. "It really does look like I was beaten up."

Ichigo shrugged and leaned back against the bathroom door, his arms crossed over his chest. "My sisters went to a costume party once and one of my sisters wanted to dress up as a corpse. My family runs a small clinic in our home, so we're all constantly exposed to sick patients and stuff. And she wanted to dress as a corpse. My dad is an idiot and ended up making her look more like a slaughterhouse than an actual corpse. He got carried away with the red. So I did it instead. I figured I did a pretty good job when she came home later that day and said that her costume scared the crap out of all her little friends."

"Oh." Was all Harry could think of to say. He studied himself in the mirror for a moment longer before turning back to Ichigo. "Well, thanks. This might convince my aunt and uncle that I wasn't trying to instigate you into beating up my cousin or something. Knowing Dudley, he'd probably make something like that up or he'll tell the truth and throw my aunt and uncle into a rioting frenzy. And if that happens, I'll never be allowed out of the house again. They'll order the both of us to stay as far from all of you as possible."

Ichigo scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I could give a rat's ass what your aunt and uncle think of me." He said.

Harry smiled. "You know, Toshiro said the same thing when I told him they would be really angry if they found out he was sneaking into my room right under their noses."

"That's because he doesn't care what they think any more than I do." Ichigo said. He glanced down at his watch and straightened up. "We better get going. If you stay out any later, they'll get suspicious. And I need to go home and practice or else I won't get dinner."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked as he followed Ichigo out of the bathroom.

Ichigo shrugged. "Nothing you need to worry about. Listen, you should go home first. If you're seen with me, the whole plan will be ruined. You go home first and after your aunt and uncle get a good look at you, pretend to wash off but don't wash off any of the bruises. You can't do anything stupider than that."

Harry nodded. "Got it." He said. Then he headed down the street ahead of Ichigo and rounded the corner into the alley leading Magnolia Crescent to Wisteria Walk. Perhaps he liked Ichigo after all; he was different and a bit mean but he was honest. A bit rude and very blunt, but honest nonetheless. Harry continued on until he got close to his house. Quickly, he switched to a slight limp as he approached the house and walked through the front door.

"Boy, where have you been?" His uncle demanded from the kitchen.

Harry sighed, knowing he'd have to endure a bit of attention from his aunt and uncle so they could see the 'evidence' of his fight with Ichigo. Harry slouched into the kitchen and stood before his uncle seated at the kitchen table. His aunt stood at the stove, cutting up vegetables and adding them to a boiling pot, and his cousin was seated at the table, shoveling food into his large mouth. Harry was pleased to see a light bruise along Dudley's pudgy left cheek. Other than that, Dudley looked unscathed compared to Harry.

"I got beat up by one of the kids from the house across the street." Harry said, knowing which words to say to distract his uncle from him to the 'unruly' group next door.

As he had expected, his uncle frowned, his angry face going a shade of red. "Is that the boy who hurt Dudley?" he asked. "I knew those blasted freaks would be trouble, didn't I?" He turned to Aunt Petunia, who pursed her lips and glared at the wall, as if she could see the house across the street that way.

"I'm going to file a formal complaint against them." Aunt Petunia declared angrily. "They should not allow such barbaric children loose on a proper neighborhood like ours. I'll have them removed from that house within the week."

"I'm going over there and giving those freaks a piece of my mind." Uncle Vernon said, surging to his feet.

Harry's eyes widened. He hadn't expected this. He was hoping they would rant and complain to themselves and each other, but he never expected his uncle to decide to go over there. His uncle usually avoided being anywhere near odd people, as if oddity was a contagious disease. He watched as his uncle headed into the hall and slammed the front door shut behind him. Without a second's hesitation, he, Dudley and his aunt had rushed to the living room and peered out the window, watching as Uncle Vernon crossed the street in the direction of Toshiro's house just as Ichigo was spotted heading down the street.

Dudley pushed Harry out of the way so he could see better and Harry glared at him before turning and heading out the back door and rounding the corner until he was in front of the wooden fence that separated the front yard from the back. He stood on one of the large rocks that separated each rose bush from its neighbor and peered over the fence. He had a clear view of the front yard and could see Uncle Vernon pointing a finger at Ichigo. Harry was amused in seeing that instead of looking scared or ashamed at being yelled at, he looked down right bored, as he listened to Uncle Vernon shout at him, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

Harry could just make out what his uncle was saying.

" – And don't think I'll let you slide just because you're a foreigner, boy! Where do you get off attacking a harmless boy like my son, eh?"

Harry rolled his eyes. _Harmless. Right._ Harry strained to hear what Ichigo said but was unable to catch anything other than a slight mumble.

"I don't care what you think he did!" Uncle Vernon shouted. "You freaks stay away from him or I'll see to it that you and your whole family are deported back from wherever you came! You see if I don't!"

Harry suddenly smiled as he saw the front door open and Toshiro walk out, flanked by an older boy and girl and a girl who also looked a bit older than him, though not by much. The group headed down the walk way and stopped beside Ichigo and Uncle Vernon. Harry had to admit, even though they were all younger than Uncle Vernon, with Toshiro down right tiny compared, they seemed pretty intimidating. And Harry could tell that Uncle Vernon thought so too, by the way he backed up a step when they approached.

"Now, see here, all of you!" Uncle Vernon shouted, gaining his balance. "I want to speak to your parents right now! Where are they? That freak old man with his long white hair like a woman's! Where is he?" Uncle Vernon glanced at Toshiro. "He's your parent, isn't he? I want to speak to him! This has gone on long enough!"

Harry could just make out Toshiro's mouth moving but couldn't, for the life of him, make out what he was saying, though he thought he saw the word 'gone' and maybe the word 'alone' but he couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, though, was enough to make Uncle Vernon furious. "Is that so? Well, then see here, boy! You tell your friend to steer clear of my son! If he lays a hand on him again, you'll all pay dearly!"

Toshiro turned and spoke to Ichigo. Now Harry couldn't make out a single word, as both Toshiro's and Ichigo's mouths were moving much too fast for him to follow. Apparently Uncle Vernon couldn't understand them either, for he immediately started shouting again. "Don't you speak to each other in your foreign language like I'm not here! I know what you're doing! You're plotting against me! Otherwise you'd be speaking about me in English! What are you _freaks_ hiding?"

Harry gasped and covered his mouth with his hands, his eyes going wide at what he saw next. Uncle Vernon had jabbed a finger hard into Toshiro's chest at the word 'freak'. Instantly the oldest girl, whom Harry was surprised to see was _**very**_ pretty and _**very**_ well developed, pulled her hand back and brought it hard across Uncle Vernon's face with a resounding _slap!_ The whole street froze, going eerily quiet, and Harry held his breath as his uncle stood rooted to the spot, his hand going up to touch his cheek as his wide eyes stared at her in shock.

The girl maneuvered herself in front of Toshiro, who looked like he was struggling to keep his expression smooth, unlike Ichigo and the other two, who were all sniggering behind Toshiro with their hands over their mouths, and place one hand on her hip and jabbed her own finger into Uncle Vernon's chest. She was shouting loud enough for Harry to hear perfectly from where he stood.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT AND ASSAULT US! HOW DARE YOU INSULT A CHILD YOUNGER THAN YOU! HOW DARE YOU LAY A HAND ON HIM! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BUSTER! YOU SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TREAT PEOPLE THIS WAY AND I PROMISE YOU, IF YOU SO MUCH AS LAY A HAIR ON HIM OR ANYONE ELSE BELOW AGE AGAIN, AND I FIND OUT, I WILL HAVE YOU ARRESTED FOR CHILD ABUSE! **AFTER** I TEACH YOU A LESSON MYSELF, YOU UGLY, PATHETIC, POOR EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN! DO! I! MAKE! MYSELF! CLEAR?"

The girl jabbed her finger into Uncle Vernon's chest with each word she spoke at the end, forcing him to take a step back each time. Uncle Vernon truly looked terrified at the furious look in the girl's eyes, which Harry himself could easily see from his distance. She reminded him of Mrs. Weasley when one of her children were being threatened. _She seems very protective of him_. Harry thought curiously.

"YOU WILL SHOW HIM THE RESPECT HE REQUIRES, OR SO HELP ME…!"

Toshiro reached out and placed a hand on her forearm. She turned and frowned at him when he spoke. "But taicho," she began.

_Tie-chow? I thought his name was Toshiro?_

Toshiro spoke again and the girl huffed and glared at Uncle Vernon, who hadn't moved an inch, before saying, "Fine!" and heading back into the house. Toshiro watched her leave and turned back to the rest of the group. He spoke again, this time to Ichigo and the others, and then watched them head inside as well, before finally turning his attention to Uncle Vernon. Again he spoke, his eyes narrowed dangerously, before turning on his heel and heading back into the house, leaving Uncle Vernon staring after him for a moment before coming to his senses.

Quickly, Harry ducked behind the fence as Uncle Vernon turned and headed back to the house. Harry ran back into the house and up the stairs, softly shutting his door behind him at the same time that Uncle Vernon burst into the house and slammed the front door hard enough to make the window in Harry's bedroom rattle and startle Hedwig. Harry winced and walked over to his closet, opening the door and examining himself in the mirror attached to it. Harry pulled off his ruined shirt and used it to dab at the blood under his nose.

Suddenly his door burst open and his uncle entered the room. Harry froze and stared at his uncle, trying not to notice the fresh handprint on the side of his face. His uncle stared at the 'bruises' along Harry's torso and then looked him in the eye. "Anything broken?" he asked.

Harry knew his uncle wasn't asking out of concern but more because he didn't want to bother with taking him to the hospital. Harry shook his head. "No, Uncle Vernon. Just bruises."

Uncle Vernon nodded firmly. "Good. Now, you are to stay away from those freaks over there. I'm going to call a meeting soon and we're going to get those freaks out of here. In the mean time, you keep your distance. You hear?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, Uncle Vernon."

Uncle Vernon nodded and left. Harry sighed in relief and turned back to his reflection in the mirror. This time he winced at the smudges that looked so convincingly like bruises. He knew that normally, if he had gotten beaten like this for real, he would have several broken ribs, if not internal bleeding. Ichigo really did a number on him. _But he didn't do anything_. He reminded himself. It was hard to convince himself that he wasn't really injured; the bruises looked so convincing.

"That looks like it hurts."

Harry jumped and whirled around to see Toshiro sitting on his windowsill, staring at Harry's bruised torso curiously. "Don't **do **that!" Harry hissed, subconsciously bringing his shirt up to cover himself. "What are you doing here? What did you say to my uncle? I can't believe that girl hit him!"

Toshiro didn't answer. His eyes surveyed Harry's torso and then traveled along to the hand shaped bruise on his arm and then up to his neck and finally resting on his fake black eye. "Who did that to you?" he asked, his voice going dangerously soft and his eyes narrowing to slits. The temperature in the room plummeted a few degrees and Harry shivered. "Was it your uncle?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it was Ichigo." Toshiro's eyes widened and Harry quickly rushed on. "I mean, he did this but he didn't hurt me. What I mean is," Harry paused and listened for his relatives. He could just make out their voices in the kitchen. He turned to Toshiro and lowered his voice. "I mean that he used some kind of make-up, some kind of powder stuff, and colored the skin to make it look like a bruise. But they're not real. It's fake, see?"

Harry used a corner of his shirt and carefully wiped at the edge of one of the bruises on his stomach. The 'bruise' smudged and started to disappear. Harry looked up and showed Toshiro the dark powder that had appeared on the shirt. "It's fake. It's just a cover. Ichigo thought of it when Dudley tried to pick a fight with me." Harry quickly explained what had happened between him and Ichigo, how Ichigo had suddenly twisted his arm behind his back without warning, how he chased away Dudley and his gang, not even hurting them much more than a bruise or two each, and then finally ending with Ichigo's idea to make it look real by using the make-up. "I'm sorry." He said at the end.

Toshiro looked at him in confusion. "For what?"

"For causing you trouble." Harry said, his head hanging. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I-I told Uncle Vernon that Ichigo had done this. I didn't use his name, but I told him that one of the boys across the street had beaten me up. And since I'm assuming that Dudley had told him that someone beat up both of us, he sort of put two and two together and figured out that Ichigo had beat up Dudley too, but all he did was give Dudley a light bruise. You can hardly tell and it'll probably be gone by Monday, Tuesday the latest. And then he said he was going to give you guys a piece of his mind and…" Harry shrugged, knowing that Toshiro probably knew the rest.

Toshiro didn't speak for a moment. He stared at Harry, his eyes traveling up and down from the bruises along his torso to the bruises on his face. Harry felt himself blushing at the inspection, feeling extremely self-conscious. Finally Toshiro spoke. "He really did a number on you, didn't he?" Harry looked up to see a smirk playing at Toshiro's lips. "I'll have to remember to give him props for this. He did a good job."

Harry shrugged. "I guess. He said something about doing this for his younger sister when she went to a costume party as a corpse or something like that. So… can I put a shirt on now?"

Toshiro's smirk deepened. "I never said you couldn't. I just assumed you liked parading around half naked."

Harry blushed and frowned at him. "Oh, shut up." He snapped. He quickly reached into his closet and pulled out a clean shirt, tossing the old one onto the floor of his closet, and carefully pulled the new one over his head, making sure he didn't mess up his fake bruises. Then he closed his closet door and sat on the edge of the bed near the window. "You really like windows, don't you?"

"What do you mean?" Toshiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry shrugged. "You're always sitting on the windowsill. Only once have you ever sat on anything else in here. And at your house, I've seen you sitting on the roof a few times."

"Oh. Well, sometimes I sit on my bed, sometimes I sit on the couch in the living room, sometimes I sit at the table when I'm eating. But most of the time I do like to sit outside. I just feel freer when I'm outside. Plus I like the cold more than heat. If I start to feel too stuffy and hot, I have to get out. I'm not very fond of hot weather. I don't mind it, but it's not my forte." Toshiro shrugged. "Everyone has their elements."

Harry nodded. "I guess that makes sense. So, what happened out there?"

Toshiro smiled. "I thought you knew. You were watching, weren't you?"

Harry chuckled softly. "All I saw was Uncle Vernon yelling at Ichigo but I couldn't hear what Ichigo was saying. Then I saw you and the others come out, and then Uncle Vernon yelled at all of you, then you and Ichigo started talking, in another language I'm assuming by my uncles shouting, and then jabbed a finger at you, and then that girl… um… _slapped_ him. And she started yelling at him. The whole neighborhood could have heard her perfectly. And then you said something and she left. And then the others left and then you left after saying something to my uncle. That's about it."

Toshiro nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that about covers it."

"But what happened?" Harry asked. "On your end, what happened?"

Toshiro shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does." Harry insisted. He frowned. "It matters because it's my fault. I shouldn't have said anything. I should have said it was an accident or that I fell or something. But I didn't and then it caused problems for you guys and now you guys are going to have to move and I'll lose the only friend I have here and-"

"Wait a minute." Toshiro said with a frown of his own. Harry looked up to see the confusion in Toshiro's eyes. "What are you talking about? Why would we move?"

"Because Uncle Vernon is furious." Harry said as if that explained everything. "He's angry at all of you and he told me that I needed to stay away from you and that he was going to get a meeting together soon and he was going to make sure you guys got kicked out of the neighborhood. And if that happens, I'll be miserable again. You guys are the only people around my age here on Privet Drive that aren't influenced by what Dudley and his gang think. You're the only ones who don't treat me like a freak of nature. You have no idea what I go through every day. I hate summers because that means coming back here for two months. I hate it. But when I met you, I was hoping that maybe this summer wouldn't be so bad. I know you're only going to be here for the summer and you're most likely not coming back next summer, since you'll be in some other country or wherever exchange students go, but I was hoping that at least _this_ summer would be okay. But if you leave, I'll be all alone, and I know I sound extremely selfish right now but that's because out of the entire twelve and a half years that I've been here, you're the only friend I have." Harry shrugged and looked down at the carpet. "I don't know what I'd do if you left." He said softly.

Toshiro stared at him a moment, inwardly working on making a decision. Harry was freaking out and seemed close to having a nervous breakdown at the thought of Toshiro and the others moving away before the end of summer. Everything seemed to be happening too fast for Toshiro's liking. After debating with himself for a few moments, Toshiro finally came to a decision. He'd just have to make sure to let the others know about it when he got back and he also needed to make sure to watch what he told Harry.

Taking a deep breath, as though he were about to do something difficult, Toshiro spoke. "We're not moving. At least, we won't until September 1st." Toshiro paused, waiting for Harry to either catch on or at least look up. "Then we're going to take a train to the new school we're headed to."

At this, Harry froze. _What did he say?_ _New school? A train? September 1__st__? He couldn't mean… could he?_ Harry hesitantly looked up and met Toshiro's teal gaze. "What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

Toshiro pretended to hesitate. "I have something to tell you and you're probably going to agree with your uncle and wish I moved after you hear it." Toshiro waited for Harry to refuse to hear what he had to say but Harry seemed to be listening with rapt attention, so Toshiro continued. "Do you believe in magic?"

Harry felt his heart leap into his throat. _Magic? Did he say magic? Does he mean…? Could he be…?_ Harry took a breath and nodded, not able to speak past the lump he swore his heart was making in his throat.

Toshiro took another deep breath before speaking. "Magic is real. And I can do it. So can my friends. We're not just normal study abroad students. We… we're wizards. Well, us guys are wizards. The girls are witches. But they **do** exist. And so does magic. There's a whole other world dedicated to it. And there's a school somewhere in this country, I think, that students go to in order to practice their magic and learn to control it. The school is called –"

"Hogwarts." Harry finished softly. "And the train is called Hogwarts Express. It's on Platform 9¾ and it's full of students going there. I know. I know all about it because… because I'm a wizard too. I'm going into my third year at Hogwarts."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "You're a wizard too?" Harry nodded numbly. "Well this is unexpected. Unexpected, yet not unpleasant." Toshiro stood up on the windowsill. "I should go."

"Wait!" Harry cried, barely remembering to whisper. He grabbed onto Toshiro's sleeve and looked at him pleadingly. "Take me with you. Please! I don't want to stay here. I hate it here. Please, let me live with you guys. I'll earn my keep, I promise. Please!"

Toshiro looked down at him and almost felt bad for him. If he didn't already know that they weren't planning on leaving him alone this summer, he would have taken Harry with him at that moment. Instead, he shook his head. "I can't. Wait." He said as Harry opened his mouth to plead again. "Let me talk it over with the others. It's their home too, you know. And they're just as much involved in this as you or I. Let me speak with them and I'll see what I can do. Okay?"

Harry hesitated, not wanting to wait any longer but knowing that it was only fair to let them talk it out amongst themselves. After all, he was basically shoving himself on them. The least he could do was wait a while. Finally he sighed and let go of Toshiro's sleeve. "Okay. I guess I can wait. How long do you think it'll take?"

Toshiro thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure. But whether they say yes or no, I _will_ come back and let you know. Don't think anything just because I don't come back right away. We have to be careful not to draw attention to ourselves, you know? But I'll be back as soon as I can. Keep the window open, just in case."

Harry nodded. "Okay. I'll keep it open enough for you to be able to open it on your own."

Toshiro nodded back. "Alright. Then I'll talk to you later." And with that he was gone. Harry sat on the windowsill that was formerly occupied by the boy who had just revealed to Harry that he was a wizard. _A wizard, here on Privet Drive!_ It was more than Harry could ask for. He knew that if they wanted to, they could easily prevent the Dursley's from kicking them out, which meant that they would be staying here the entire summer, which would be great. But it would be even better if they allowed him to stay with them.

"Please." He whispered into the coming night. "Please let them accept me."

* * *

Toshiro hadn't returned in almost a week and, despite Toshiro's warning that it was bound to take some time and not to worry, Harry couldn't help feeling anxious. The whole house was on edge because his uncle was constantly furious over every little thing. He hadn't been able to get a meeting together, as he had wanted to, because most of the neighbors didn't want to get involved. Some of them felt that it was none of their business or that it had nothing to do with them. The few who did agree weren't enough to make much of an impression. The only improvement was that on Saturday, July 23rd, Harry's uncle finally gave in and allowed Harry to release Hedwig at night, after promising not to use her for messaging. Not only that, but his aunt, uncle and cousin decided to go for a ride in the new company car, to help ease the tension in the house, and Harry had gone down stairs and picked the lock and grabbed as many of his spell books as he could in one go and hid them in his room. Then, at night, he could work on the mountain of homework his professors had assigned them, not knowing or caring if a student was, for some reason, unable to get to any of their magical possessions, homework included.

Now, Harry sat on his bed, under the blankets, doing his homework by flashlight again. He was just finishing up his Herbology essay, _There are several plants in the magical world that are both deadly and extremely useful – List five and explain both their good and bad traits_ when he heard a grunt from the other side of his wall. Harry paused, listening as hard as he could for signs of his uncle coming to his door. A few seconds later, Harry sighed with relief as his uncle gave another grunt and then resumed his snoring. Quickly Harry jotted down the last few sentences of why Mandrakes were so useful and then closed his Herbology book with a soft snap. Quietly he crawled out of bed and blew on his essay in an attempt to help it dry faster, before rolling it up, recapping his ink bottle that sat on his nightstand, and shoving all of it into the small space beneath the loose floorboard under his bed.

Then he picked up the tiny stub of a pencil and marked off July 26th on his make-shift calendar. It was getting closer to his birthday and closer to the day when Aunt Marge, Harry's uncles sister, came for a week long visit. Harry hoped Toshiro would come by before then and give Harry the good news that he would be allowed to stay with them. He never liked Aunt Marge, and she certainly didn't like him, nor did she ever hesitate to let him know it. Why, just last week, when she had called Uncle Vernon and told him that she was coming over, Harry had been in the room and heard her ask, loudly over the phone, if _that boy_ was still here or if they had finally kicked him out.

Harry glanced at his clock on his nightstand. _1:04 a.m._ It was now Tuesday, July 27th. Harry sighed and walked over to his window, gazing up at the dark purple sky, unable to see the stars through the heavy clouds coating them like a thick wet blanket. Harry wondered what could possibly take them so long to decide if he could stay or not. He already agreed to do what he could to earn his keep and he'd be more than happy to sleep on the couch if they needed him to. He habitually didn't eat much during the summer anyways, so food wasn't a problem. What could possibly be going on over there? "I wonder if they think it would be too much of an issue to let me stay. And after how pathetic and desperate I acted before, maybe Toshiro just didn't want to break the news to me."

"Didn't I say I would come whether or not we agreed?"

Harry jumped and whirled around before remembering that it was **Toshiro's** voice he heard, and turned back to the window in time to see Toshiro pull up the window and crawl, cat-like, into his room, one hand curled against his chest. He straightened up and handed Harry a small blob of soft pink fur. "Hold her for a minute." He said and quickly straightened his dark blue polo shirt, quietly examining in and the skin underneath. "I hate it when she digs her claws into my shirt. It hurts like hell."

Harry looked down at the ball of fluff in his hands, which popped a head up and blinked at him with big purple eyes. It mewed softly and licked the center of his palm with it's rough, sandpaper-like tongue and causing his hand to twitch reflexively as he chuckled and moved her head. "Stop that. It tickles." The kitten mewed again and resumed licking his palm. Harry chuckled again and picked her up with his other hand.

"She won't listen." Toshiro said as he watched Harry interact with his kitten. "She barely listens to me. She's a spoiled brat." The kitten looked at him and mewed indignantly. "Oh, be quiet, you know you are."

Toshiro rolled his eyes as the kitten mewed again and held his arms out to her. Immediately the kitten jumped from Harry's hands into Toshiro's arms. "Ouch! Enough with the nails!" he snapped as he pulled her off of his chest. Harry noticed the cloth sticking to the kitten's paws as Toshiro pulled her away. Quickly, Toshiro unhooked his shirt from her claws with one hand while holding her away with the other. "You're going to rip my shirt, and then I'll have to hear it from Rangiku about ruining her clothes."

Harry smiled, wondering who _Ren-gee-coo_ was, as he listened to Toshiro, the boy who had a bit of an antisocial vibe about him, speak to the kitten as if it were a real person. Harry didn't see a problem with it, as he spoke frequently with Hedwig, his owl. Somehow, seeing him with the kitten just seemed to fit with the boy. He sat on the edge of his bed, near the window, and watched until Toshiro had finally unhooked his entire shirt free from the kitten's grasp. "So, what's her name? I'm assuming she's not a normal kitten, by the pink color of her fur."

Toshiro nodded as he backed up and sat on the windowsill. "She's not. I got her at a pet shop called _Magical Menagerie_ in a place called Diagon Alley. You know it?" Harry nodded. "She's from there. The shop keeper said that she was the only one of her litter who had already tapped into her color changing powers. They're not supposed to be able to do that until they're at least six months but she's only 2½. They change their color depending on their mood and according to the color coding on the slip of paper the shop keeper gave me, pink means she's calmly excited, if that's even possible. I normally don't let her outside for obvious reasons but since I was going to the house of another wizard, I figured I'd let her come with me. And her name is Setsuna, which means 'calm snow' in Japanese. I shortened her name to Suna, which means 'sand' because, in a way, she's like sand. You can hold her in your hand, but eventually she's going to slip through your fingers and get away. She's done it several times already and we had to start making sure all doors, windows and anything else stayed closed and locked, just in case."

Harry nodded in understanding. His classmate, Neville, had a toad for a pet and he knew based on watching Neville that it was very easy to misplace a pet that small. And Setsuna was almost the same size as the toad. Harry waited for Toshiro to continue speaking but when he didn't, Harry asked the question he had been dying to ask since Toshiro left his room almost a week and a half ago. "So, can I stay?"

Toshiro chuckled. "You really are impatient, aren't you?"

Harry blushed, glad that it was too dark to see it. "Sorry. I just really want out of here. I'd have left in a heartbeat ages ago if I had anywhere else to go."

"So we're like your escape route." Toshiro said.

"No, no. That's not what I meant. You're not just a means of escape. You're my friend. I'm not trying to use you or anything." Harry said hastily.

Toshiro laughed softly and waved his hand at him. "Relax, I was kidding. You take things too seriously. And that could become extremely dangerous if you're not careful." Toshiro gave him a meaningful look and then shrugged. "Lighten up a bit. I've been told to do the same several times. I'm working on it and if I seemed as uptight as you do now, then I can understand what everyone was so worried about."

"Sorry." Harry said again.

"And stop apologizing." Toshiro said.

"Sor- um, right." Harry stuttered.

Toshiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead decided to go ahead and answer Harry's question before he really did have a nervous breakdown. "Well, we talked it over. This was really unexpected and sort of threw us all for a loop. No one was sure what to do at first. Should we let you stay or not? We've never actually done anything like this before. But after talking if over for as long as possible, I think we've finally come to a decision but it's a bit complicated and you might not entirely like it."

"What is it?" Harry asked nervously. He didn't say no but he didn't say yes either. Yet he did say that whatever their answer was, he might not like it. What did that mean?

"We've decided to let you stay with us, _but_ we can't do it right now. Like I said, we've never done anything like this before. We need to speak with our teacher and see what he thinks." Toshiro shrugged. In reality, he had already sent a letter to Captain-General Yamamoto and they all agreed to put it off for as long as possible while they continued to practice their spells. That way, when Harry did move in with them, he wouldn't become suspicious with them trying to learn spells they should already know. "It shouldn't take too long and I have a feeling I already know how he'll react. He can be pretty easy going once he learns of a situation. My estimate would be sometime between the rest of this week and sometime next week. August 7th, Saturday, would probably be the latest, depending on how soon our teacher can get back to us. So just in case he says yes, make sure to be packed by August 7th the latest. Okay?"

Harry frowned and inwardly deflated. He really wanted to go with them right now. But he knew how difficult it was sometimes to make sudden changes and sending letters to all the people involved would indeed take time. He knew that. But still, waiting any longer felt extremely difficult for him to imagine doing. But Toshiro had said there was a good chance that their teacher would agree. So there was hope for Harry. He looked up and slowly nodded to Toshiro. "Okay. I think I can hold off for a little while longer. It'll be hard, mostly because my uncle is furious with the world because he can't seem to get rid of you guys, but I think I can manage. I'll just have to make sure to stay away from him and the other two as much as possible."

Then Harry groaned. "But I'm not sure about Aunt Marge."

"Who's that?" Toshiro asked. "What's wrong with her?"

Harry sighed. "She's my uncle's sister. She's mean and nasty. She breeds bull dogs and she's always bringing her favorite dog, Ripper, whenever she stays for a while. She called last week, about a day after you left, and said that she was going to spend the week here. She's coming on Saturday and she won't be leaving until Saturday of next week; that's the 7th. She hates me, and she never lets me forget it. And worst of all is when she brings Ripper, because once, Ripper chased me up a tree after I accidently stepped on his tail and she didn't call him off until well past midnight. She insults me to no end and is always trying to talk my aunt and uncle into getting rid of me. I can never help controlling my temper with her. She just gets me so mad."

Toshiro frowned. If Harry lost his temper with his aunt, there was bound to be consequences. But they couldn't risk bringing Harry into their home just yet. As difficult of a decision as it was to make, Toshiro couldn't allow Harry to move in just yet. He'd have to wait. And that meant he'd have to endure his unpleasant aunt for as long as possible. Maybe they could work double time with practice and try to finish up faster and then maybe Harry could come sooner. "Okay, we'll try to see if we can't get our teacher to respond sooner and hopefully he'll say yes sooner. But like I said, it's going to be difficult. Just keep packed until the 7th at least. Try to endure your aunt for as long as possible and try not to let her get to you. I know people like that and she seems to enjoy getting a rise out of you. If she can't, she's going to keep trying. Don't give her the satisfaction of losing control. Be the bigger person."

Harry smiled. "You know, that sounded weird coming from you. 'Be a bigger person', I mean." Harry chuckled.

Toshiro frowned. "Do you want to live with us or not?" He snapped.

Harry quickly straightened his face. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. It just seemed a bit ironic."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Regardless, that's what we've decided for right now. I know it doesn't seem like much has been accomplished, since it took us so long to get to this agreement, but you have to understand, it's all new to us. This will be the first time in two and a half years that anyone has joined our ranks without an invitation. Our ways are complicated and we don't learn magic the same way your school does with years and such. It's complicated."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? How do you do it?"

Toshiro shook his head and stood up. "Like I said, it's complicated. Maybe, if you do get to stay with us, I'll tell you sometime. But for now, it's getting late and you need to sleep."

Harry sat up and turned around to see his alarm clock. It was almost _2 am._ He turned back to Toshiro and grimaced before letting out a large yawn. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty late."

"You think?" Toshiro asked sarcastically. He jumped up onto the windowsill and turned back to Harry. "Again, keep your window unlocked and I'll come by as soon as I get an answer. It shouldn't take longer that a week or so. Like I said, keep your things packed just in case."

"Wait, my stuff." Harry said suddenly. "All of my school supplies, my trunk, my broom, everything I have is locked in the cupboard under the stairs. I can't get to it while my aunt and uncle are home."

Toshiro thought for a moment. "Your stuff is still in your trunk, right? Even though it's all locked in a cupboard, it's still in your trunk?" Harry nodded. "Then just leave it all there. Don't worry about it. When the time comes to come and get you, we'll just come in and take your stuff out of the cupboard and take it all with us." Toshiro shrugged. "Shouldn't be too difficult."

"Yeah, I guess that could work." Harry said.

Toshiro nodded. "Right. Then I'll see you within this week or the next at the latest." Then he jumped out of the window, Suna in hand, and disappeared into the night.

Harry sighed and got into bed. He still had to wait but at least this time he had a time line to go by. Hopefully he would be allowed to go before Aunt Marge gets here or at least soon enough that he won't have to endure too much time with her. The less time he spent around her the better they all would be.

* * *

Toshiro hadn't returned until well past the time Aunt Marge had arrived. She had appeared at the train station the day of Harry's thirteenth birthday and his uncle had gone to go get her. That night, Harry had felt a balloon swell inside of him when he had received a birthday gift from his friend Ron, along with another from his friend Hermione. He felt happy that he wasn't forgotten by his wizarding friends. And the gifts came in handy over the week that Aunt Marge stayed. Hermione's gift of a broom service kit had kept his mind occupied while his aunt berated him for every little thing. Normally, he would have at least snapped at her but this time he was even more on his best behavior and only he and his uncle knew why.

The night he had received his birthday gifts, he had also received a letter from the school with a permission slip to attend the occasional trips into Hogsmeade. He needed to get his uncle to sign the form and Harry knew that the only way his uncle would ever do anything pleasant for Harry was if he had something his uncle wanted. And what his uncle wanted at the moment was for Harry to act as normal as possible while Aunt Marge was here, in order to keep her from figuring out what Harry was. So Harry had made a dangerous deal with his uncle: He would be on his best behavior and let her say whatever she wanted to him, and in return, as soon as she walked out of the door, Uncle Vernon would sign the form.

Today, August 6th, was the last day of Aunt Marge's stay. Tomorrow morning, she and Ripper would be on their way back to the hellhole they crawled out of and Harry would get his permission slip signed before going with Toshiro and the others; hopefully. So Harry sat in the kitchen, eating with everyone else, while Aunt Marge talked about who-cares-what and chugged her third glass of after dinner wine. As his mind wandered, Aunt Marge suddenly realized that Harry was being too quiet for his own good, and began rebuking him. Harry tried his hardest to block out her words but her voice penetrated his brain as if there were a dozen mosquitoes buzzing and poking around in his head. Harry focused on the broom kit in his room, trying to remember the instructions in the booklet about proper maintenance when polishing the handle, occasionally turning his attention to the thought that he might be going to live with Toshiro and the others by tomorrow at the latest, and then going back to the service kit. But eventually Aunt Marge's words became too personal for Harry to ignore any longer.

"- no doubt a lazy lowlife scoundrel." His aunt was saying.

"He was not!" Harry snapped. How dare she talk that way about his father? She didn't know him; how could she base her opinion of someone solely on her own theory? It was wrong. It was unfair. And it was more than Harry could tolerate. "My father was nothing like that!"

The kitchen had gone silent and everyone who wasn't involved was staring back and forth between Harry and Aunt Marge as if they were watching a tennis match. Finally Uncle Vernon cut in. "Boy, go to bed!" he shouted.

"No, Vernon." Aunt Marge said. She held up a hand towards him but kept her eyes on Harry, who was fuming in his seat. "Proud of your parents, eh boy? Of your lazy father and pathetic mother? If they had been half the decent folk as the rest of the world, they wouldn't have gotten themselves killed in that car crash-"

"They didn't die in a car crash!" Harry shouted, already on his feet.

"They did too!" Aunt Marge yelled back. Her face was a deep shade of red, a mixture of both anger and the wine. "They died in a car crash and left you here on the door step of their respective relatives. And obviously the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, seeing their spawn here before us, all insolent and ungrateful. You are-"

But what Harry was, no one ever found out. The next few moments happened so suddenly that at first, Harry wasn't sure he had done anything. His aunt suddenly began inflating like a large, humanoid balloon, growing bigger and bigger and lifting off of the ground to hover along the ceiling of the kitchen. Everyone went into a panic, Uncle Vernon grabbing onto his sister, trying to pull her down, while Aunt Petunia and Dudley screamed and scrambled out of the way and Ripper barked madly in all directions and eventually sank his teeth into Uncle Vernon's leg.

During the commotion, Harry ran out of the kitchen and sprinted upstairs to his bedroom, where he grabbed everything he had tossed into the small space under the floorboards when Aunt Marge had arrived, and grabbed Hedwig's empty cage from it's hiding place in his closet, and sprinted back down stairs. He grabbed his trunk from the already opened cupboard and tossed everything inside before grabbing it and dragging it to the front door. At that moment, Uncle Vernon burst through the kitchen door and bore down on Harry.

"Fix her!" he shouted. "Put her right!"

"No!" Harry shouted. He quickly reached into his trunk and pulled out his wand, pointing it threateningly at his uncle. "She got what she deserved and if you don't back away from me right now, you'll get what you deserve too! I'm done!" Then Harry whirled around and yanked open the front door, grabbed his trunk and sprinted outside and headed down the street, ignoring his uncle's demands to come back. Harry was more furious than he had ever felt in his life. He headed down the streets, not once thinking about heading to Toshiro's house, too furious to think much of anything beyond getting out of there. But once the initial shock wore off, Harry began to panic.

He had used magic! That meant he was going to be expelled from Hogwarts because underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. He would be an outcast forever, and Toshiro and the others would all go on to Hogwarts and leave Harry behind and he'd never see any of them ever again. And why didn't he just go to their house to begin with when he first left the Dursley's? Because he wasn't thinking. All he wanted was to leave Number Four and now look where he was. Wandering around on Magnolia Crescent in the middle of the night, alone, with no money, no food, nothing but a trunk load of magical items that would no doubt get him into even more trouble if a muggle found them.

Harry sighed and sat down on his trunk, trying to think of something he could do. As he sat, he suddenly got an odd prickly feeling on the back of his neck, as if someone were watching him. But who? Who would be out so late, besides him, and wandering the streets in the dark? Harry stood up and turned in a circle, scanning the streets for any signs of a person. But the streets were too dark and the nearest street lamp was three houses down in either direction. Quietly, Harry reached into his pocket, never taking his eyes off of his surroundings, and pulled out his wand. He turned at the sound of a snapping twig and glanced in the drive-way of the house across the street. In the shadows between the house and the low wall beside it, Harry could make out a darker shadow moving around.

Quickly, Harry raised his wand above his head and muttered, "Lumos." His wand tip lit up, casting a light on everything within range. As light shone along the drive-way of the house across the street, Harry got a glimpse of the large dark shadow as it moved away from the house. It was a massive black dog, huge compared to other dogs Harry had seen around town, and it looked mean and menacing as it took another step toward him. Harry instinctively backed up, not sure what he'd do if the dog attacked. Should he stun it? Freeze it, maybe?

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Harry yelped and whirled around to come face to face with Toshiro, a scowl plastered across his face as he glared at Harry. "You scared me!" Harry yelled, lowering his wand. Harry turned back to the house across the street but it had gone. He turned back to Toshiro. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Toshiro snapped. "Oh wait, I did! What were you thinking? I told you not to lose your temper, didn't I?"

Harry frowned. For some reason, he suddenly felt like a child being scolded for disobeying his parent. "It's not my fault!" Harry snapped back. "I tried! But she started insulting my parents, and calling them lazy and pathetic and-"

"Are they?" Toshiro demanded. "Are they pathetic and lazy and worthless and whatever else she claimed they were?"

"No!" Harry yelled angrily.

"Then why the hell does it matter what she thinks?" Toshiro shouted. "You idiot! If you had let your brain think for you instead of your pride, we wouldn't be in this situation! But no, you had to go and take what she said personally! What the hell were you doing when I was telling you not to let her get to you because that's what she wanted? You played right into her hand! Congratulations!"

"You don't understand!" Harry yelled. "You don't know what it's like not to have ever met your parents and have your entire life be a lie until two years ago! You don't know what it's like to grow up not knowing anything about your parents and yet hear people talk about them like they're trash!"

"**I **don't know what it's like?" Toshiro yelled incredulously. "News flash, Harry. You are doing the same damn thing your aunt was doing just now! You're assuming things about people you don't even know! My parents are dead, Harry! They died years ago! I don't know anything about them any more than you do about yours! No one speaks about them! No one cares! And now, neither do I! I'm over it! Because I know that no matter what anyone says, no matter what I or anyone else does, **they are dead!** End of story! And nothing can bring them back! I know that and I've accepted it! It's time you did the same! Quit taking everything so personal! In case you didn't know, you aren't the only person who's lost family, Harry! Every single person in our group is missing one parent or both! So I don't want to hear about how your life sucks more than everyone else's but last I checked, the world did not revolve around Harry Potter!"

Harry turned away, not wanting to look at those teal eyes that were boring angrily into his skull. Toshiro was right. He knew he wasn't the only person in the world who had lost family. There were several students at school who either had a parent walk out on them when they realized their offspring was abnormal or had walked out on them before they were even born because their spouse was abnormal. He knew he was being selfish. And Toshiro had just confessed that he didn't have parents either. None of them did. Now that Harry thought about it, he realized that Ichigo had spoken of his father and younger sisters but not once did he mention his mother. Did he even have a mother? What about the others? The girl that had hit Uncle Vernon? The girl that looked to be a little older than Toshiro? The boy with the spiky red hair? Toshiro said that each of them are missing one parent or both. Was that what made someone like Ichigo be friends with someone like Toshiro? Because they all have that something in common? Or was there more?

"Besides." Toshiro continued in a softer voice. Harry looked up to see him staring up at the sky, gazing at the stars twinkling down on them. "If you had stayed at your uncle's house for at least ten minutes more, you would have been there to hear that we got an answer back from our teacher saying that you could stay with us. I left our house to tell you when I heard shouting from your house and when I went to the window in the living room, I saw the kitchen door open and something that looked like a human sized balloon floating on the ceiling. And then I saw you round the corner further down the street and followed you. I hate to say this, Harry, but one of these days, your impatience and recklessness with be the death of you or someone close to you."

Harry stared at him, his eyes going wide. _What? What kind of thing is that to say?_ "What do you mean?"

Toshiro shrugged but didn't look at him. "Trust me. I've seen it happen plenty of times. People get cocky and let pride control them and the next thing they know, they're knocking on Death's door. Is that how you want to end up?"

Harry didn't answer. _How could he have seen anything like that? What had he seen? What had he and the others been through? Could Harry even imagine?_

"If your done moping, I need to head back to the house and let everyone know what's going on." Toshiro finally tore his gaze from the sky and turned to Harry with a smirk. "Now that you know I can blow up like this, do you still want to live with us?"

Harry gave a small smile in return. "More than anything." Mostly because now, he really didn't have anywhere else to go. But also because perhaps he could learn more about Toshiro and Ichigo and the others.

Toshiro nodded and headed back the way he came. "Then let's go before any more people decide to stare at us out their windows." Harry looked around with a start and noticed that people were indeed staring out their windows at them. They must have been making quite a racket with their shouting match but Toshiro didn't seem to care much. "And just to let you know, if you bitch like that at the house, you'll be in serious trouble. The others aren't as tolerable as I am. Remember that."

"Right." Harry mumbled, wondering what the heck he had gotten himself into. _Well, this has been an eventful summer so far._

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**A/N: Well there you go guys. Sorry this chapter was hell-a long but I was determined to make every scene in here fit into one chapter like I had intended on doing in the first place. I just didn't expect to type as much as I had. And Rangiku's situation with Uncle Vernon wasn't even on the list of things to put in here. But I thought it added a little touch, don't you think? Sorry if Harry seemed a bit out of character but he just strikes me as a bit selfish and stuff, with all the me, me, me and I, I, I and stuff like that. So…yeah.**

**I decided to skip the Knight Bus scene so that the rest of the story could fit in the way I had planned. At first I thought about having Ichigo or Renji follow Harry onto the Knight Bus and keep an eye on him at the Leaky Cauldron until the others got there but then I decided against it. So I'm doing it this way instead. And I know that there were a few scenes in here that either didn't happen in the book or else didn't happen exactly the way it did in the book but that's because the book belongs to J.K. Rowling and I am not J.K. Rowling. Nor would I really want to be because then I'd have the large responsibility of pleasing readers instead of just writing for fun on here. You know what I mean?**

**Well anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you'll all review and let me know what you thought about this. Was it too long? Thanks!**


	11. Questions & Another Mission

**A/N: Hope you guys are having a great time reading this story. I just want to give a special thanks**** to all of you wonderful reviewers for sticking by me and reviewing my chapters. I also want to thank any anonymous reviewers and anyone who read but didn't review. Thank you all. You've inspired me to keep writing and work hard to get this out there. Now let's get on to the next chapter.**

**BTW, I actually decided to put one more chapter up before they go to Hogwarts. So basically, there is one more chapter before the Hogwarts Express ride. I forgot I needed to put a few things in this one that I felt would explain a lot of useful things. And thank you to one of my reviewers who pointed out the little confusion about Toshiro telling Harry that Ukitake was his dad and then saying that his parents were dead. I wanted to go somewhere with that idea but I completely forgot about it and my idea ended up abandoning me without a word of goodbye. So I wrote in a little something here and in the next chapter. Hope it explains that bit a little better. Thanks again.**

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**Chapter Eleven: Questions & Another Mission**

Harry followed Toshiro down the street and back onto Privet Drive. He avoided looking in the direction of Number Four and Toshiro didn't comment as he led Harry up the walkway to his home. As soon as the door opened, sounds met Harry's ears, causing him to pause before heading in. The house was nothing like Number Four, even though it was build with the same format. The place was warm and bright, feeling pleasantly homey instead of uptight and over proper. The walls were painted a pale green and the carpet, deep reddish brown, like rust, led from the front door to the living room and up the stairs.

Toshiro pulled off his black leather jacket and hung it on a peg by the door before bending down to remove his shoes. "Take off your shoes when you're in the house." He told Harry. He pointed to a low shelf with rows of square holes, each with a pair of shoes poking out. "We keep with some of our traditions, including the Japanese custom of removing shoes when you enter a house. Just put them in one of these shelves. It keeps the carpet clean and helps keep things sanitary."

"Oh, okay." Harry quickly removed his shoes and placed them in one of the shelves, as Toshiro had done and dragged his trunk into the living room after Toshiro.

Toshiro turned and spotted the trunk. He pulled out his wand from his pocket and pointed it at the trunk. "_Wingardium Leviosa_." He muttered. The trunk lifted into the air and hovered above their heads an inch or two. "Wait here. Don't move and don't touch anything." Then Toshiro headed up the stairs with the trunk ahead of him and rounded the corner. Harry waited anxiously, unsure of what to do if someone came out of the kitchen towards him, where the sounds of voices and banging pots and pans were coming from. He surveyed the area around him. The living room was full of at least three couches, one long one, and two shorter ones, all surrounding an average sized TV and looking quite comfortable. A small table stood between two of the couches, a large vase full of multi-colored roses sitting grandly in the center. A low coffee table sat in front of the couches, decorated with magazines, comic books in what Harry guessed was Japanese, an odd assortment of candy bars and packets of gum, and a large glass of what Harry figured was Cola, along with a small pot of pansies in the middle.

A moment later, Toshiro came back down and stepped up beside him. He looked at his face and then turned back to the stairs. "Actually, come on. You better come with me and get cleaned up."

"Wait, what about the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry?" Harry asked nervously. He stared around himself, as if expecting government officials to swarm down on them at any moment.

"Don't worry about it." Toshiro said.

"But you did magic!" Harry exclaimed as he followed Toshiro up the stairs. The walls upstairs were painted a deep purple and each door was painted a different color. Harry followed Toshiro to an ice blue door and entered the room after Toshiro used a key to unlock it. The walls were painted a mixture of white and light blue, giving one the feeling that they had walked right into a hollow block of ice. Harry nearly shivered at the cold feeling the walls gave off and instead looked down at the carpet. The carpet was pure white and felt remarkably soft and fluffy under Harry's socked feet. It gave Harry the feeling of walking through snow but without the stinging coldness snow brought when touched. Despite the cold feeling the room brought, the temperature was actually quite comfortable. A bit chilly, as if the window had been left open too long, but not entirely unpleasant. "Um, I like your room."

Toshiro gave him an odd look before shrugging and heading towards the door on the far side of the room. "Thanks, I guess. Everyone put a little bit of themselves into their room, giving them a sort of homey feeling, I guess. Letting them feel more comfortable for being away from home for so long."

"How long have you been away from home?" Harry asked curiously.

Toshiro shrugged again, stopping in front of the door. "Not long. We usually go home after being in one country for a while. And then we stay there for a while before moving on to the next. But this year, we'll be gone for the entire year, which is completely new to us. This will be the first time we've been away from home for so long. It's unnerving, to say the least. But at least we'll be able to stay in contact with our homeland for the entire trip."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess that would be difficult. So, what are you going to do when the ministry gets here?"

"Nothing." Toshiro said. He pushed the door open and shoved Harry into the bathroom. The bathroom made Harry feel as if he had walked right into the ocean. The walls and ceiling were painted a deep blue and life-like paintings of a kelp forest were etched along the blue walls, with scattered amounts of bubbles flowing around them. The blades of the kelp were decorated with sea stars, sea urchins, abalone, and an odd assortment of crabs, along with several other sea critters scattered around. Dark blue coverings were wrapped around the toilet lid and seat and deep blue rug pieces wrapped around the bottom of the toilet and around the sink, as well as a single rectangular rug laid out in front of the dark blue shower stall. All of the rugs were soft and fluffy like the carpet in the bedroom, with the tiles on the floor colored a soft blue like a robin's egg.

"Wow." Harry said as he looked at the bathroom in awe. "You really went all out."

"**I** didn't. Rangiku did. She's the designer of our group." Toshiro rolled his eyes and reached out to turn on the water in the white porcelain sink. "She felt that it was an insult to live in such _plain_ conditions as the house had been before we got here. I told her not to go overboard but she never listens to me unless it really matters. As for the whole ministry and wizard law thing, they don't know that we use magic here. There's a sort of spell that our teacher placed on this house that allows us to practice magic without being detected by your wizard police as long as we stay within these walls."

"Really?" Harry asked incredulously. "So does that mean I can use magic in here without getting caught too?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yep. Anyone who comes in here can use magic, whether or not they're allowed. It's an old spell that was invented by a wizard in our country that only a **very **select few even know about. The last thing we need is for someone evil to know about it and misuse it."

Harry gulped. "I see what you mean. But can't anyone just walk right in and use it after you leave?"

Toshiro shook his head. "There's a timer on the house. Next Sunday, we're planning on packing up and heading to the Leaky Cauldron on Monday, and staying there for the rest of summer. Once the day comes for us to move there, the spell, along with any that was used during our stay, will deactivate and everything will return to its original form and appearance. It will be as if we were never here."

"Wow." Was all Harry could say. What else was there to say to something like this? _I bet Hermione would be going nuts with questions if she found out about this. Maybe it would be best if she didn't know just yet_.

"Right, well now we need to work on getting you cleaned up, because now that we know you aren't really hurt and you no longer live with your aunt and uncle for now, you would look stupid if you kept walking around with those fake bruises." Toshiro grabbed a washcloth from a shelf across from the toilet and dumped it into the sink full of warm water. After ringing it out, he handed it to Harry. "Wash it all off and then meet me in the kitchen. You can change your clothes if you want before you come down. Your trunk is at the end of my bed next to mine. Just do what you need to."

"Um, thanks." Harry said.

Toshiro grunted and made his way out of the bathroom. Then Harry heard his voice float from the doorway of the bedroom. "Do not touch anything in here that is not yours, don't go into anyone else's rooms, especially since they're all locked, don't touch my trunk, and lock the bedroom door when you leave."

"Okay!" Harry yelled back. Harry sighed and began working on removing the make up he had tried to keep from washing off for the past few weeks. Several minutes later, when he was sure he had gotten all the make-up off of his face, neck, arm and torso, he stripped off his shirt and headed towards the end of the bed. Spotting his trunk, Harry crouched down and lifted the lid, pulled out a clean t-shirt, and pulled it over his head. After he closed his trunk, he started to stand when he spotted the other trunk. It was completely different from his and made his look plain and ordinary in comparison. It was nice and fancy and must have cost a fortune. The name on the top said _Toshiro_ and had a picture of a dragon etched into the metal. There was also weird writing on it that Harry assumed was Japanese and when Harry placed a hand over the piece of metal where a lock should have been, a sudden painful jolt of electricity shot through his arm, from fingertips up to his shoulder, causing his entire arm to go numb for a second before taking on the pins-and-needles feeling.

Harry winced and bit his lip to keep from crying out in shock and pain. He shook his arm slightly, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling before standing up and backing away from the trunk. He rubbed his arm and headed out the door, remembering to lock it before shutting it and heading down the stairs into the living room. Voices were heard from the kitchen again and this time Harry could make out odd words in a language he didn't recognize. Harry waited a moment, unsure if he would be interrupting or not before shrugging and heading in.

The sight before him nearly made him laugh out loud. All five of them, Toshiro included, were covered in food particles and several strings of noodles were hanging from their clothes and hair. Harry looked up at the ceiling to see several swirly looking flat noodles stuck to the ceiling, along with a few vegetables and a few white flower looking things. One flower slowly fell from the ceiling and landed on the head of the dark-haired girl that Harry guessed was a bit older than Toshiro. The girl turned and glared at Ichigo, who was closest, and began yelling at him in the different language, pulling the flower from her hair and brandishing it in front of his face. Ichigo began yelling back in the same language and snatched the flower from her and tossed it into the sink. The dark haired girl turned her back on him and began adding more noodles to a boiling pot on the stove.

Harry turned his gaze to the spiky red headed guy, who was a few inches taller than Ichigo, and watched as he picked up a large bowl full of water and turned at the same time as the busty girl who had slapped Uncle Vernon. Both of them collided with each other, slipped and both fell to the floor with the water spilling onto both of them. Harry's eyes widened and his cheeks turned a violent shade of red when he noticed that the water had soaked into the girl's shirt, outlining every curve of her bust and abdomen. Quickly he turned his gaze away and looked at Toshiro instead. Toshiro looked down at the two with an irritated look before shaking his head and resumed his task of cutting up vegetables. Harry was surprised to see Toshiro was skilled enough with a knife to slice through potatoes while the potato rested in his palm without cutting his hand off.

Harry decided to use this moment to step forward and speak, letting everyone know that he was there. "Um, hey. Is there anything you want me to do?" he asked.

Toshiro paused in his cutting and turned to him. He glanced around at the messy kitchen and the food covered people he worked with, who stared at Harry as if they hadn't seen him before. Well, half of them hadn't seen him before now. Then he turned back to Harry and said something in the different language.

"Er, sorry. What?" Harry asked in confusion.

Toshiro blinked and then placed the half cut potato and the knife on the counter, wiped his hands on a dish towel and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small silver ring and quickly slipped it onto the middle finger of his right hand. "Can you understand me now?"

Harry quirked an eyebrow and nodded. "What is that?" he asked, indicating the ring.

Toshiro looked down at it. "It's a translation ring. We each have one and we can use it to speak and understand English. Once we take it off, we'll speak only Japanese and understand only Japanese. Same with people on the outside. With the ring on, you can understand me. If the ring is off, you can't. And somehow we're able to speak other languages too if we needed to. We'd just have to cast the spell for which ever language we need to speak on to the rings. It's complicated to explain but we don't really plan on speaking to anyone other than the English population, specifically everyone in the castle. We'll worry about other creatures over there when the time comes. For now, you wanted to know what you could do to help? You can start by taking the completed food into the dining room and placing them on the table. We're almost finished here. And then you can help clean up."

Harry nodded. "Okay." Toshiro indicated to Ichigo and said something in the other language. Ichigo replied and picked up a bowl. He handed it to Harry with a comment in Japanese, and then indicated towards the door that Harry assumed led into the dining room. At the same time, the boy with the spiky red hair handed him another larger bowl filled with those same odd flowers in a type of syrupy soup."Right." He headed into the dining room and placed the bowl filled with odd looking chicken chunks onto the table and then set down the bowl of the weird flowers. A ball of white fluff popped up onto the table and began eating the flowers out of the soup. "Suna?" The ball of fluff turned its head at Harry and gave a small mew before returning to its task of fishing out the flowers.

Harry smiled and headed back into the kitchen. "Hey, Toshiro. What are those flower things?" Harry asked.

Toshiro turned to him, the potato and knife back in his hands but with the potato in his left hand instead of his right. "What flower things?" he asked.

Harry pointed to one of the flowers sticking to the ceiling. "Those. What are they?"

Toshiro glanced up and then smirked. "Those aren't flowers. It's squid."

Harry paled. "S-squid?" he stuttered. "You eat squid?"

"Duh." Ichigo jumped in. He had placed his ring on his finger when he realized that he couldn't understand what Harry was saying. "Most Asian countries eat sea food. Squid, fish, oysters, crab, lobster, things like that. Haven't you ever heard of sushi? Most types are made with raw fish and rice. Some are made with sea weed, and others are made without the fish. It all depends on your preference. There are even some people who eat puffer fish, even though they're poisonous. If you don't eat them properly, you could die."

"Then why eat them at all?" Harry asked incredulously. _Seriously, if something is poisonous, why eat it?_

Ichigo shrugged. "Because they taste good. If you eat them properly, they're not bad. Although, sometimes people eat them the wrong way on accident. Again, it all depends."

"Don't worry." Rangiku said, as she placed her ring back on her finger and jumped into the conversation. "We'll get you used to Asian food with no problem. Just you wait."

"I'd rather not, thanks." Harry said nervously. "I don't think I'd want to eat something poisonous."

"You don't have to." Rangiku said. "Not everything we eat is fish. We eat a lot of vegetables, too. Like miso. It's a type of soup with chunks of tofu and stuff. And there are a few different foods made with soy bean paste and chicken and rice and different types of meat and a whole bunch of different things. You'll see. And you can teach us about the different foods people here eat."

Harry shrugged. "I guess. But I don't think I'd be too fond of fish and other sea foods."

"That's fine." She said. She picked up a large metal pot with wooden handles and handed it to Harry, who took it gingerly by the handles. "Put this on the table. There's a metal tray sitting on the table. Put this on there so it doesn't burn a hole through the table."

Harry followed instructions and placed the pot on the tray in the dining room. Suna was sitting at the head of the table and eating the flowers that Harry learned was squid, lifting her head to stare at him, as if daring him to take them away, before turning back to her food. "She seems to behave the same way as Toshiro." Harry muttered.

"Is that so?" Harry jumped and whirled around to see Toshiro standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. "You scare easily. You need to learn to be more on your guard. It's acting like that that'll get you killed, you know." Toshiro walked into the dining room and began placing the silverware he had been carrying on the table. He glanced down at Suna as he passed. "Stealing food again?"

Suna mewed at him as if to say "Yeah, so what?" and continued eating. Harry chuckled. "She has quite an attitude." He said.

Toshiro rolled his eyes and headed back into the kitchen, Harry at his heals. "I know she does." He handed Harry a broom. "Knock the noodles and stuff off of the ceiling and the walls. Let them fall to the floor. We can sweep them up easier than trying to hand pick them from the ceiling."

Harry nodded and did as he was told without complaint. He had never actually had to clean food off of the ceiling before and found the task to be quite interesting. At one point, he ended up stepping on one of the pieces of noodles after it fell and ended up slipping and landing hard on his backside. His pride didn't last much longer when Ichigo and the red headed guy started cracking up while the dark haired girl glared at them and helped Harry up. After all of the food had been swept from the floor, everyone washed their hands and headed into the dining room. The smells from the food made Harry's mouth water and his stomach growl, realizing that he hadn't actually eaten much of the dinner Aunt Petunia had made while he was enduring Aunt Marge's wrath.

"If you're hungry, then sit down." Ichigo said. As if to emphasize his point, he steered Harry to the only empty seat and shoved him down while Rangiku and the other girl, whom he learned was named Rukia, piled food onto a plate, minus the fish and squid, and set it in front of him.

"Um, thanks." Harry said. He tentatively took bites of his food, surprised that a lot of it wasn't so bad. Unlike Mrs. Weasley, who would watch him with eyes like a hawk to make sure he ate, he was grateful that the others dismissed him and began eating their own food, trusting him to eat on his own. He pointed to one of the chunks of chicken. "What's this?"

"Chicken teriyaki." The red headed boy, Renji, told him as he shoved some of it into his own mouth. He used his fork to point at different foods on his plate. "This is sukiyaki and this is obviously fried rice. And this soup stuff is called miso. And these are octopus balls." Renji smirked and picked up a chunk of dark brown meat chunks. "And this is human liver."

Harry coughed and choked on a grain of rice. Renji burst out laughing while Rukia pounded on his back and offered him a glass of water. After taking a few swallows of the water, Harry turned to Renji. "You're not serious, are you?"

Renji chuckled and shook his head. "No. We're not cannibals, you know. I was kidding. It's just spicy chicken. I just wanted to see your face." He chuckled again. "I should try that when we get to the school. If they serve Japanese food, I mean. But don't tell anyone. I don't want to spoil the joke. I wonder how many people I could make vegetarians with that joke?"

Toshiro sighed. "We are not going there to upset the students, Abarai."

Renji coughed and smirked down at his plate sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. Sorry, Cap… uh, I mean Toshiro."

The others paused at the near slip and turned to Harry, who looked around obliviously. "What?" he asked.

The others shook their heads and Renji sighed in almost relief before turning his attention back on his food. Toshiro shook his head and turned to Harry. "Harry, what type of homework do they give students?" He asked, skillfully changing the subject.

Harry paused and thought about it before answering. "A lot of the teachers give essays. Like one essay, where I had to list five plants that are considered deadly but still useful and list and describe their good and bad traits; that was for Herbology. Though, some teachers will make you practice a spell that you didn't get right during class. Mostly Transfiguration and Charms."

"What are the classes like?" Rukia asked.

"Well, from what I've had, Transfiguration is pretty hard and the teacher, Professor McGonagall, is pretty strict, if not fair. She's my head of house." Harry tapped his finger against his chin. "History of Magic is extremely dull. It's the only class that's taught by a ghost, but I don't think he realizes he's dead. And he's _soo booring!_ He drones on and on in a really dull tone and after five minutes, the whole class ends up falling asleep. What?" he asked, seeing their startled looks.

"You can see them?" Ichigo asked almost suspiciously. "You see ghosts? And spirits?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. We all can. They're everywhere. The worst is Peeves. He's a poltergeist and he's pretty nasty. He plays pranks and stuff on the students. The caretaker, Mr. Filch, has made it his life mission to get rid of Peeves; he doesn't listen to anyone except Professor Dumbledore and the Bloody Baron. That's the Slytherin ghost. He's pretty scary. He's tall and silvery and has hollow black eyes and he's covered in silver blood and just looks really creepy, like he was a victim of a brutal murder or something. He's the only one Peeves will listen to. But not all of the ghosts are mean. There's Sir Nicholas, whom we call Nearly Headless Nick because whoever tried to decapitate him while he was alive didn't do a very good job because his head didn't come off all the way. It's hanging by a few strands of skin on his neck. But he's pretty nice and is always willing to help a fellow Gryffindor, especially the new students. And then there's the Fat Friar, who is the Hufflepuff ghost. He's pretty friendly, mostly to the Hufflepuffs but he's pretty nice to everyone else too. I don't know much about the Ravenclaw ghost, though. And there are a few others who wander around too. They don't really belong to any house but they do hang around a lot. Mostly in the high towers, but away from the owlery because of the school owls. Don't you have ghosts where you're from?"

The others exchanged uncertain glances and then turned to Toshiro for instructions. Toshiro cleared his throat and then nodded. "We do have ghosts but where we're from, not everyone can see them. Only a select few can. It's one of the reasons we're in this sort of group in the first place." The others nodded vigorously.

"Oh." Said Harry. "Well we have plenty but not all of them like to be seen."

"I see." Toshiro said. Soon the table lapsed into silence, except for the slight tap of silverware against plates and glasses being placed on the table. Harry, feeling as if he said something wrong, ate in silence, occasionally looking up to survey the group's expressions. There was a tense feeling in the air and everyone looked different but they all seemed to be frowning slightly, seemingly bothered by something. Toshiro was glaring at his food as his frown deepened occasionally. They all seemed to be worrying over something but Harry couldn't tell what. Something about what he had said seemed to be bothering them. What did he say? Was it the ghosts? The classes? The teachers? Was it any ghost in particular? Peeves perhaps? Harry wasn't sure but he hoped everything would be okay when they got to the school. He didn't want there to be any problems for them on their first day. That wasn't fair. It was one thing to be new to the whole wizarding thing and then going to a wizarding school for the first time. It was another thing entirely to be dumped into an unknown country and all of a sudden have things you thought you knew about magic turned around and flipped upside down. Introduced to something new.

Suddenly Ichigo dropped his fork onto his plate and stood up, picked up his dishes and headed into the kitchen. A few moments later, Harry heard Ichigo stomping up the stairs and then a door slam shut. Harry turned to the others, none of them seeming to have moved from their previous positions of frowning down at their plates, though Renji and Toshiro looked like they wanted to follow suit. "D-did I do something wrong?" Harry asked softly. Toshiro glanced up at him in confusion. Renji glanced sideways at him before looking back down at his plate. Neither Rangiku or Rukia moved. "Did I say something that upset you guys? Are you mad about something?"

"Why would you think it was something you said?" Toshiro asked.

Harry shrugged. "It just feels like you guys are mad about something. And you guys didn't start acting like this until I told you about the ghosts. I think. Was it the ghosts? Or the teachers or something? Whatever it was, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend or anything."

"You didn't." Renji said solemnly. "It's nothing like that. It's… complicated." Then Renji picked up his dishes and headed into the kitchen.

"Well, it looks like dinner is just about over." Rangiku said. She smiled cheerily at Harry but Harry saw through it. She was upset too. "Would you mind helping me clear the table?"

"Sure." Harry stood up and helped Rangiku clear the table. Toshiro and Rukia handed them their plates before heading out of the dining room, Toshiro carrying Suna. As soon as they were gone, Harry turned to Rangiku as he followed her into the kitchen. "Are you sure I didn't do anything to offend you guys?"

"Of course not, silly." Rangiku said as she turned on the water and began washing the dishes. "It's just that a lot of what you said brought back memories that some of us would rather forget."

"So it was something I said." Harry said mournfully as he dried the dishes and placed them on the dish rack.

Rangiku shook her head. "Not really. Besides, it was better to hear it from you _before_ we got there. The last thing we need is for everyone too act all moody and stuff while at the school. Wouldn't want to scare all the little kiddies, now would we?"

"I guess not." Harry frowned as he continued to helped her with the dishes. "What was it that I said that upset you guys?"

Rangiku shrugged. "A bit of everything, I guess. You have to understand that this is all new to us. A lot of this stuff that's over there isn't stuff that we spent too much time around. Either that, or we spend _way_ too much time around it for comfort. Some of us more than others. Especially taicho."

"You mean Toshiro, right?" Harry asked as he finished drying the last of the dishes and then dried his hands. "I heard you call him that before. What's _tie-chow_?"

Rangiku giggled at his mess up. "Taicho. It's pronounced tie, as in the tie you wear around your neck, and cho, spelled c-h-o. Taicho. It's a little nickname I use. I'm pretty much the only one who says it but since the others spent so much time around me, they started calling him that too."

"What does it mean?"

Rangiku placed a finger over her lips and winked at him. "It means 'captain'. But don't tell him I told you. The last thing he wants is for the whole school to start calling him that. But he does act like a leader, doesn't he?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that. You all seem to show him a lot of respect. And you listen to him a lot."

"That's because Taicho is ranked the highest out of all of us in our group. He's the smartest, even though he's the youngest, and most advanced. He first tapped into his powers when he was half way through the age of twelve and he's thirteen now and he'll be fourteen in a few months. He's learning quicker than everyone else and eventually he's going to pass us all before he even gets to his next birthday." She placed her finger over her lips again and whispered into his ear. "And I'm going to throw him a birthday party at the school when we get there. But don't tell him or else he won't let me. 'Kay?"

Harry chuckled. "Okay."

Rangiku headed out of the kitchen and Harry followed. "So when is your birthday?" she asked.

"It already passed." Harry replied. "It was last week, July 31st."

"Aw, really? And we missed it?" Rangiku asked, pouting.

"T-that's okay." Harry said hastily. "I don't mind."

"Nonsense. Don't worry. You'll get a party too." Rangiku promised.

"No, that's okay. Really. You don't have to." Harry said almost pleadingly.

"Have to what?" Toshiro said from the stairs.

"We're going to throw Harry a birthday party!" Rangiku said before Harry could respond.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow and turned to Harry, who was blushing madly and looking extremely uncomfortable. Toshiro smirked. "If you're going to be living here, you have to endure everything we have to, and that includes Rangiku and her embarrassing obsession with parties. After yours, consider yourself temporarily one of us." Harry groaned and covered his burning face with his hands. "Now, come on. We need to get you ready for bed."

Harry looked up as Toshiro pulled his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the longer couch. He muttered the Levitation Spell and immediately the couch rose into the air. "Let's go." He said and headed upstairs with the couch. Harry followed as Toshiro steered the couch into his room, easily maneuvering the couch through the doorway, and placed it down beside his own bed, which had been rearranged, along with the rest of the furniture in the room, to accommodate another bed.

"You don't have to go through all this trouble." Harry said hastily. "I don't mind sleeping on the couch in the living room."

"Don't worry about it." Toshiro said dismissively. "We're not staying here long enough for it to matter much anyways." Once the couch was properly placed, Toshiro muttered another spell, which Harry didn't catch, and suddenly he was staring at, not a couch, but a bed similar to Toshiro's but with scarlet bed clothes instead of an ice blue. "I saw the colors of parts of your uniform in your trunk earlier. I figured it had to do with this 'house' situation at the school. Thought you might be more comfortable with these colors instead."

"Thanks." Harry said quietly. Toshiro muttered another Levitation Spell and placed his trunk at the foot of his new bed.

"We have a few rules at this house." Toshiro said as he closed and locked his bedroom door before getting ready for bed. "First, everyone is to wake up and be down for breakfast between 7 and 7:50 _a.m._ Practice starts at 8. Then everyone has to complete an hour and a half of practice sometime before lunch, which is at 12 noon. No practice, no food. I know it's strict but those are the rules. Same with dinner. Dinner is at 7, except for tonight because of a few issues we had to deal with that made dinner late. Again, no practice, no food. You can practice an hour and a half right after breakfast and have the rest of the afternoon off until lunch or you can practice for the remaining hour and a half just before lunch; same with dinner. Your choice but you must practice and I will check. You must sign a sheet of paper that's taped to the wall beside the top of the stairs. The paper has a spell on it that will detect lying. After dinner, you're free 'til after breakfast the next morning. Got it?"

Harry stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was serious or not, before deciding that he was. Then he nodded and got into bed. "Yeah, I got it. It's actually not much different from how it is at the school, except without the no food thing."

"I know. It's mostly to make sure that the others practice. But I have to include you too, just to be fair." Toshiro walked back to his bedroom door and unlocked it before going back and climbing into bed. Immediately, Suna jumped up and curled herself onto one side of his pillow. At the questioning look Harry gave him, Toshiro said, "I lock the door when I change and unlock it before I go to bed. There are five of us, so I keep my bathroom and the others share the main one. But because there are so many of us and those four act like a bunch of premature monkeys in the morning, Rangiku uses my bathroom to shower and the other three share the main bathroom. Sometimes she'll shower before I get up, so I keep my door unlocked so she doesn't have to use a charm to unlock it. She's pretty dangerous with Charms for some reason. But so far, she's been pretty good with Transfiguration spells."

"Oh." Harry said. "Do you guys practice on one specific thing or do you practice on everything at once?"

"One at a time. First two weeks were spent working on Charms, the second two weeks were spent on Defense Against the Dark Arts and now we're currently working on Transfiguration." Toshiro answered. He reached up and turned off the light on his bed side table, plunging them into almost complete darkness. Harry looked up at the ceiling to see hundreds of twinkling stars shining down on them.

"That's cool." He whispered.

"What is?" Toshiro asked softly.

"The ceiling. The stars." Harry clarified. "That's cool. It almost feels like we're sleeping outside. It's kind of cool in here and then adding the stars…"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess."

Harry settled back against the pillow, liking the comfortable feeling of his new bed, and allowed his mind to unwind. As he lay thinking, he couldn't help thinking back to all of his encounters with Toshiro over the weeks. Suddenly, something didn't quite click. He wasn't sure what it was at first, but as he continued to think, he remembered what seemed to off. Toshiro had told him, when they first met, that the white-haired man who had bought their house, was his father. Yet, when he was scolding Harry earlier about families, he told Harry that his parent were dead. _How is that possible?_ Harry thought. _Either he __**is**__ his father, or he's not. But if not, then who is he really? And why did Toshiro lie? But if he is Toshiro's father, then does that mean he lied about his parents dying? Why would someone want to lie about something like that?_

Slowly Harry drifted off to sleep, once again glad that he had met Toshiro, even if has a bit suspicious now, and Ichigo and Rangiku and Renji and Rukia and even Suna. _So far, this has been my favorite summer. And maybe in the morning, I'll ask him about it._

* * *

The next few days were some of the most interesting days Harry had ever experienced on Privet Drive. Toshiro made breakfast every morning, though he himself didn't eat much, and again on Sunday, everyone pitched in to make lunch and dinner. On Monday, Harry was a bit surprised to find Renji alone in the kitchen, making several different sorts of jelly while white rice cooked in a rice cooker. "What are you making?" Harry asked, looking at some of the dark purple jelly.

"Onigiri." He said simply. "Ever had one?"

Harry shook his head. "What's oh-nee… um, oh-nee…?"

"Onigiri." Renji said. "Oh-nee-geer-ree. Onigiri. It's a ball of rice filled with a type of filling, usually fruit, called an Umeboshi, on the back. Quite a few are made the basic way with salmon and cod roe instead of fruit. It's pretty simple to make for lunch, sometimes for a snack. There are some desert types too. They're balls of rice and covered with a chocolate shell, also with a fruit Umeboshi, usually strawberry. I'm making regular ones. Some will be grape flavored, some strawberry, some plum flavored, and some filled with chocolate. Toshiro hates those ones."

"He does? Why?" Harry asked in bewilderment. They sounded a bit odd, especially the chocolate ones, but he thought that was just him.

"Toshiro's not very fond of sweets. Not sure why; he just isn't. Must have been something in a past life or whatever." Suddenly Renji froze and glanced at Harry, who was staring down into a bowl of strawberry filling and didn't seem to notice or catch the slip. "So, anyways, aren't you supposed to be practicing?"

Harry shrugged, still staring into the bowl of strawberry filling. "I finished. I've already done most of these spells, so I didn't have much to practice for. I just worked on the ones I needed to and that was it."

"Huh. Well, in that case, want to help?" Renji asked.

Finally Harry looked up at him. "Help how? I don't have a clue how to make _o-ni-gi-ri_." Harry said, saying the name slowly.

"It's not very hard." Renji assured him. "For now, just keep stirring this bowl." He handed him a bowl that smelled strongly of plums. "After it becomes nice and thick and creamy, it'll be done. Then just stick it in the fridge and I'll take care of the rest. By then, the rice should be done too. Then all you have to do is wait for the rice to cool a bit, enough for you to touch with your hands without burning yourself, and then mush chunks of rice into a sort of triangular ball, using your hands as a sort of mold. That's it. I'll add the Umeboshi myself when it's done."

"Okay. I can do that." Harry said and began stirring the filling in the bowl. Several minutes later, with Renji's help and coaching, Harry had finished stirring the filling and had already made several balls of rice, which he realized was a bit sticky after being cooked. He and Renji were just finishing up molding the last of the rice balls when Toshiro entered the kitchen, carrying a large white bird on his forearm. "Hedwig!" Harry exclaimed happily.

"She was sitting on your bed after I finished showering." Toshiro said as Hedwig flew from his arm and landed on top of the fridge. "Apparently, she knew you weren't with your uncle anymore. She's pretty intelligent."

Harry nodded proudly as Hedwig puffed up her chest, apparently feeling just as proud. "She's the smartest bird I've ever met."

"Well why don't you go play or something while I finish these?" Renji said.

Harry started to turn from the counter but stopped with a frown when Renji's words sunk in. "I'm not a child, you know." He said indignantly.

Renji smirked. "Compared to us, you are. And you don't have to be a child in order to play and have fun. I mean, look at Ichigo's dad. The guy constantly attacks him as soon as he walks through the door, according to what Rukia told us. And some of the other Cap-, I mean, teachers in charge of our groups act kind of childish, too."

"_Try to pay attention to the way you speak, Abarai._" Toshiro said to Renji in Japanese. "_We can't afford any slip ups at the school. I have a feeling that not everyone will be as naïve as Harry. We all need to watch what we say._"

Renji nodded. "_Yes, Captain. I keep forgetting. It's difficult but I can do it. I've been catching myself before I slip completely but with a bit more practice, I can catch myself before I slip at all. I'll work on it._"

"_See that you do._" Toshiro said. Then he turned to Harry, who was staring back and forth between the two, looking thoroughly lost. Toshiro smirked and headed out of the kitchen without another word. Harry paused for a moment, contemplating, before running after Toshiro.

"He's like a baby chick." Renji chuckled in amusement. "He follows after Toshiro like a lost baby chick. He's got to be driving Toshiro nuts."

* * *

Harry continued to practice with the others as the days went by, occasionally stopping to help whoever was making lunch or dinner for the day. By Friday, he had completely finished all of his homework, without having to worry about spilling ink on the sheets or having to study by flashlight or candle light. Toshiro occasionally read through Harry's essays, determined to learn as much as possible before going to the school themselves. The only thing Harry wished he had the freedom of doing was riding his Nimbus 2000 around the back yard. But Toshiro had told him that the spell on the house didn't extend past the walls, so Harry couldn't ride. He did go outside to help Rangiku with the garden, however, and soon had the entire back yard looking like something out of a fairy tale. Later that day, Toshiro had gone out after breakfast and hadn't returned until well past lunch. When Harry had asked where he had gone, he had shrugged and said 'just out'.

Saturday morning, Toshiro was alone in the kitchen, setting the tea on the stove while the eggs cooked and the potatoes fried for breakfast, when a slight tapping was heard above the sink. Toshiro turned and noticed a large brown owl fluttering outside the window. He wiped his hands on a dish towel and opened the window. The owl flew in and landed on the counter, placed its letter onto the countertop and flew back out of the window, seemingly proclaiming self-importance. Toshiro reclosed the window and picked up the letter, which, oddly enough, was addressed to him.

_Hitsugaya, Toshiro_

_Kitchen_

_Number Seven of Privet Drive_

_Little Winging_

_Surrey_

Toshiro quirked an eyebrow and opened the letter. There were two different letters; one was from Captain-General Yamamoto and the other was from Albus Dumbledore. Toshiro skimmed through both letters, growing more annoyed the further he read. Finally he rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, refolding the letters and placing them in his pocket before turning on one of the burners on the stove and burning the envelope the letters had arrived in.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked as he stepped into the kitchen in time to see the remains of an envelope turning to ash in Toshiro's fingers.

"Burning a piece of paper." Toshiro answered tersely.

"I can see that. But what I meant was why?" Harry replied.

Toshiro shrugged. "Because I felt like it. And no, I didn't think simply throwing it in the trash would suffice. Otherwise I would have." Toshiro snapped irritably.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked with a frown, a bit surprised with the bad temper Toshiro seemed to have develop all of a sudden.

Toshiro shook his head, forming a frown of his own. "Nothing. It doesn't matter. What do you want?"

Harry hesitated, unsure if he should stay. He had decided that today would be the day he confronted Toshiro about whether or not his parents are dead, and if so, why he lied. But something told him now wouldn't be a good time to ask. Obviously Toshiro seemed to be upset about something, possibly with whatever was on the paper he had just burnt, and Harry wasn't sure he wanted to be around in case he made something worse. _What's made his so angry all of a sudden?_ Harry thought. _ Well, he doesn't really seem angry. More like annoyed, maybe a little irritated. But why?_

"Well?" Toshiro snapped impatiently. "What do you want?"

"N-nothing. Never mind." Harry stuttered and quickly backed out of the kitchen.

Toshiro sighed and leaned back against the counter, rubbing a hand over his face. _Those old geezers are determined to make my life miserable._ He thought irritably. According to the letters, Yamamoto had placed Toshiro, the Captain of the group, onto a separate mission on his own. He wanted Toshiro to use this opportunity to gather more information on wizards and the whole magical world. He felt that there was a possibility that, if the need should arise, Soul Society and wizards would need to combine forces to defeat Aizen, and Toshiro was the perfect tool to use in order to gather as much information as possible. Then Dumbledore had offered to enroll Toshiro into a few extra classes that he felt would help with his investigations of gathering information, feeling that the best way to learn about wizards was through their textbooks.

So now, not only did Toshiro have to deal with the classes the rest of his group had, but now he had two more classes he had to attend: Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes. Both old men figured Muggle Studies would be a good way to learn the ways of muggles through the minds of wizards, to understand how they thought; and Ancient Runes was a good way to learn more about their historical lands and languages scattered around the globe. _How the hell am I going to fit all of these classes into one week?_ Toshiro thought furiously. _Why just me? Wouldn't it be easier to have at least the lieutenants in on this as well?_ But he knew why Yamamoto had volunteered Toshiro. Because Toshiro was never one to back down and say he couldn't do something. Because Yamamoto knew that for Toshiro to say he couldn't handle it, would be for Toshiro to admit that everyone was right and he was too young to be a captain. That he was in over his head and should step down as captain and let someone older and more experienced take over. Because, no matter how hard it was, Yamamoto knew that Toshiro wouldn't say no to the task. Just as he hadn't refused this mission, not because he didn't want to feel degraded about being thrown into this mission because he fit the part, but because he didn't want the rest of Soul Society to look down on him as just a child with too much to handle.

_Damn those bastards!_ Toshiro thought furiously, clenching his fists. _Both of them! It __**would**__ be a good idea to learn more about these magical people incase Aizen decided to go psycho and create an army to attack Soul Society. But why did they decide to shove me into this by myself? Well, it won't matter. I'll do it. I'll show them that I can. I'll show them all. I will __**not**__ fail either of these missions. I won't!_

"Taicho?" Toshiro turned to see Rangiku poking her head around a frosted kitchen door. Toshiro blinked and looked around himself, realizing that half of the kitchen was covered in sleet. Puffs of frosted air appeared in front of Toshiro's and Rangiku's faces as they breathed. Quickly, Toshiro forced himself calm and gathered his power back into his body, bringing the room's temperature back to normal. As soon as the sleet began to melt, Rangiku stepped into the kitchen and stepped up beside him, leaning a hip against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest. "What happened?"

Toshiro pulled his ring off his finger and shoved it into his pocket, bringing the letter back out at the same time, and shoving it at Rangiku. She took it and began reading the pages that had upset her captain. After she was done, she pulled off her ring and spoke. _"What are you going to do?"_ she asked in Japanese.

Toshiro shrugged. "_There's nothing I can do. I have to do it. Captain-General Yamamoto's orders._"

"_But Captain, this is too much for you to do by yourself._" Rangiku protested. "_Why didn't Head-Captain assign all of us? Or at least Renji and I? It seems like a bit too much for a single captain. Or even a captain type mission in general. As lieutenants, Renji and I should be doing this._"

Toshiro shook his head, his frown back on his face. "_No. It's my mission. I won't fail. And I won't refuse. Head-Captain knows this. That's why he assigned it to just me. He knows I won't refuse. I __**can't**__ refuse._"

Rangiku frowned and then smiled slightly. "_You know,_" Rangiku started thoughtfully. "_Captain Ukitake wouldn't be very happy if he found out that Head-Captain was manipulating you like this. He's quite fond of you, you know. He's told me so a few times. It would be interesting to see what his reaction would be._"

Toshiro looked at her, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips. Captain Ukitake was indeed fond of Toshiro; even he knew it. "_You're not going to tell him. He doesn't need to know. Besides, I already made my decision. You're not helping. Neither is anyone else. I'll do this on my own, just like I always do. I can do it._"

Rangiku looked at him sadly. "_I know you can; I don't doubt that. I just wish you would let us help._"

Toshiro shook his head firmly. "_No. I don't need help. I'll do it all on my own, just like Head-Captain expects me too. Just like everyone in Soul Society expects me to. If I fail, which I won't, but if I do, at least it will be on me, and not on any of you._"

"_Captain._" Rangiku said.

Toshiro shook his head again. "_No. As captain, it's my responsibility. Mine alone. And nothing you say can change my mind. You should know that by now. If there ever was a time for you to listen to me and do as I say, do it now._"

Rangiku sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "_I don't like this. Not at all._"

Toshiro shrugged, almost helplessly in Rangiku's eyes. "_Neither do I. But what choice do I have? Don't say it._" He said as Rangiku opened her mouth to give him the other option again.

Rangiku snapped her mouth shut and smiled. "_Are you going to tell the others?_" she asked as she slipped her ring back on her finger.

Toshiro shook his head, pulling his ring back out of his pocket. "_No. It's on a need to know basis. The only reason I'm telling you is because you're my lieutenant and I trust you not to run your mouth about this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you unless it was necessary. Which, at the moment, it's not. If things change while we're there, then I'll consider letting the others know._"

"I wonder how they would react if they found out about the way _**he**_ was treating you?" Rangiku said thoughtfully.

"Don't." Toshiro said in English after putting his ring back on. "I mean it. I don't need a pity party."

Rangiku shook her head. "Don't worry. That's one party I wouldn't want to throw. Especially for you; you've had enough of that already."

"Matsumoto." Toshiro said warningly.

"I know, I know." Rangiku waved her hand idly and turn to the frosted stove, the pan of eggs and the pan of potatoes slowly defrosting from the extinguished burners. "So what's for breakfast?"

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Me and a few of my friends made Onigiri together once or twice and they came out pretty well but I'm not entirely sure if I described making them properly. We just made them based on memory but it there is a proper Japanese way to make them, could someone please let me know? Thanks.  
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**Also, after the story arc with Bleach, where Ukitake and Shunsui fight Yamamoto, (for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, I recommend watching the anime Bleach) I felt that Yamamoto was acting very unreasonable. And since I hadn't seen anything past where Ichigo and the others went back to the living world when I wrote this, I didn't have a very high opinion of him. So I felt that he was a bit unfair and, like many high leaders, would be willing to use his subordinates, in this case, the other captains, for his opinion of "the greater good". And since the other people in Soul Society treat Toshiro like a child in over his head, I figured Yamamoto would use that to his own advantage. If I'm wrong, please let me know but that's the impression he left on me. But I felt it fit a bit with this story. Not sure why. Maybe I'll make something out of it later on. Any suggestions?**

**Thanks for reading and having patience with me. Make sure to review and I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible. Until then…**


	12. School Shopping Part 2

**A/N: Okay, here it is, everyone. The final chapter before the train ride to Hogwarts. At long last, the school year is just about here. But before that, I just want to say that the majority of you said that Renji's birthday is in August and that is what I have written down as well. So, I'll just leave it as is. Plus I need someone's birthday held at the Leaky Cauldron. It will go with my idea for that chapter. Can you imagine the chaos Rangiku and Mrs. Weasley would cause by putting together a birthday party? I almost feel sorry for Renji. Almost. But because of that, this chapter might be a lot longer than all of the other chapters so far. Hope that doesn't bother anyone. Haha. Now, let's see what this chapter has to offer for you.**

***Over one hundred reviews! You guys are AWESOME!***

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**Chapter Twelve: School Shopping Part 2**

Harry sat with Ichigo in his room, curled in a ball on the small recliner the boy had somehow managed to fit into his room, his feet on the cushion and his knees pulled up to his chest. He had just finished telling Ichigo about Toshiro's odd behavior and how angry he seemed to be. "And I didn't say it at the time, but for some reason, the air in the room felt like it was going cold. Like when the windows are open during winter. I swear I half expected ice to start forming on the walls. It felt weird and really creepy but Toshiro didn't seem to notice. He was too mad, I guess. But what do you think it was that got him so mad? It was unnerving, to say the least."

Ichigo sat silently on his bed as he listened to Harry explain what had occurred down in the kitchen. He wasn't entirely sure what to say to him. He didn't know why Toshiro would be angry but he did understand that Toshiro's zanpaktou had to do with ice. Rukia had told him that Toshiro's zanpaktou took the form of an ice dragon and he had wings made of ice when in his bankai form. He also had the ability to half manipulate the weather, able to bring the temperature down below zero if he wanted to. But how was he supposed to explain something like that to Harry? He wasn't sure that sort of thing was normal for wizards anymore than it was for humans. "Why are you telling _me_?" he asked in a bored tone. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Harry paused and then shrugged. "I don't know. I probably could have told someone else but I don't know them enough. I did tell Rangiku that Toshiro was mad when she came out of her room and she told me to stay out of the kitchen. Then she went downstairs."

Ichigo shrugged and lay back against the wall at the head of his bed, folding his arms behind his head. "So then don't worry about it. Rangiku will take care of it. She usually does."

"Why is that?" Harry asked suddenly. "She hangs out with him a lot. And she shares his bathroom, she goes into his room whenever she wants, he lets her get away with a lot. Are they dating or something? It seems kind of odd, though, if they are. She's, like, twice his size and looks about three years older than him… why are you laughing?"

Ichigo placed his hands over his face as he laughed wildly. "Oh man, Toshiro and Rangiku. What a picture." Ichigo laughed again. "Wait 'til I tell Renji about that one. That's hilarious. But you know, Toshiro and Rangiku aren't that far apart in age, despite their size difference. Toshiro will be fourteen in December, I think Rangiku said. And Rangiku will be turning sixteen sometime before the year ends. I think it was in September or October, I forgot which. So they're only about two years apart." _Actually, it's more like a few hundred years apart, but he doesn't need to know that._ Ichigo thought to himself.

"They're in love!" Harry jumped at the loud voice coming from under Ichigo's bed. A few seconds later, a small, yellow stuffed lion crawled out and jumped onto one of the armrests of the recliner. "You can't fight the power of love, you know."

Harry stared at the _talking toy_! "Um, you're a stuffed animal. Aren't you?"

"Duh!" it said, crossing its stuffed arms over his chest. "I am more than just a stuffed animal, kid. I am the one, the only…"

"Damn it, Kon!" Ichigo suddenly shouted and grabbed the stuffed lion. He brought it up to his face and began shaking it violently. "What the hell's wrong with you? What part of 'stay out of sight' don't you understand?"

"But it's stuffy down there." Kon said as he struggled to free himself from Ichigo's grasp. "Besides, the kid doesn't look traumatized. He's fine."

Ichigo turned to Harry. "What are you thinking?" he asked carefully.

Harry shrugged. "That there is a stuffed animal, talking and moving and seemingly alive. Is it a spell or something?"

Ichigo hesitated and then nodded. "Uh, yeah. It's something like that. The thing is, it was a spell that went wrong. I had found out about a spell that brought inanimate objects to life but I wasn't paying attention when our teacher told us that it was too dangerous to do just yet. So I did the spell and **this** was the result." He held up the lion by an ear. "He's an idiot, a womanizer, and a pain in the ass. He talks too much and is always getting into trouble and then I end up having to clean up after him. Since it was my mistake, I have to keep an eye on him until we can figure out a way to change him back. And it's going to suck when we get to the school. He's going to be trying as hard as he can to sneak into the girls' dorms."

Harry's eyes widened. "The _girls'_ dorms?"

"Hey, you can't stop love!" Kon shouted, finally getting free of Ichigo's grasp and landing on the ground. He stood up and climbed back up the recliner to stand on Harry's knees. "I do it for the art of it. Besides, you're too young to appreciate true romance. Just like Captain Hitsugaya and the lovely Rangiku – OW! What was that for?"

"You idiot!" Ichigo shouted, his fist raised above his head in preparation for hitting him on the head again. Instead he grabbed him and threw him against a wall. Then he pulled his ring off his finger and began shouting at Kon in Japanese. _"What do you think you're doing? You can't call him by his title, remember? Here, he's just Toshiro. Just like Rangiku and Renji are just Rangiku and Renji, without the title of lieutenant!"_

"_Don't get mad at me! I forgot!" _Kon shouted back after taking off the silver band around his tail. "_I don't come out enough to remember. Besides, I doubt he even noticed. The kid doesn't look too bright."_

"_It doesn't matter. If you say things like that at the school, someone else will hear you and there's bound to be a few kids who aren't as dumb as him."_ Ichigo replied. "_Just watch what you say or don't say anything at all. In fact, maybe you should do that."_ Then he picked Kon up and tossed him into the closet before slamming it shut and sitting back down while placing his ring back on his finger. "Now where were we?"

"Um, we were talking about Toshiro and Rangiku." Harry supplied helpfully. He glanced at the closet as Kon pounded on it, shouting to be let out.

Ichigo ignored the pounding and nodded. "Right. Well, like I said. Age isn't really a factor with them. You shouldn't let appearances decide everything for you, you know."

"Oh." Harry said. "But, so they're not dating then? Do they like each other? Is Kon right? Is that what it is?"

Ichigo started to shake his head, but stopped, an idea coming to light. Smirking, he got up and closed his bedroom door and locked it before coming to sit back on the edge of the bed, leaning towards Harry and placing his elbows on his knees. "Well, don't tell anyone I told you this." He said, making a show of looking around for unwanted listeners. Then he leaned closer and whispered. "But they actually do like each other. Rangiku really likes Toshiro, despite his age and height. And he really likes her, too. I mean, really; have you seen her? They both have a crush on each other and everyone knows it. They try not to act like it but everyone can see it. If you notice, Rangiku is usually the person Toshiro talks to about a lot of things, and vice versa. When Toshiro gets mad, like he was now, Rangiku is the person you should usually tell because she's the only person, that I know of, who can calm him down. Watch, I bet you he'll be a lot mellower after talking to her."

"So they like each other, but neither will admit it." Harry surmised.

Ichigo nodded. "Yep. But don't say anything to them, otherwise they'll get mad at both of us. Especially Toshiro. He's actually really shy and when he gets embarrassed, he shows it by getting mad. That's why he usually looks like he's irritated a lot. So try to keep it a little bit between us. It's a secret."

"Okay." Harry said with a nod of his own.

Suddenly there was a knock on Ichigo's door and Ichigo got up to open it. Toshiro stood on the other side, a slight frown on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. As soon as Ichigo saw him, he was barely able to contain the snicker that threatened to escape from his mouth. "Can I help you?" he asked cheekily.

Toshiro glared at him. "I need to speak with Harry." He said. He looked past Ichigo to where Harry sat on the recliner. "We need to talk."

"You're breaking up with him?" Ichigo asked.

Toshiro's eyes widened in surprise at the odd question and then narrowed when Ichigo snickered. "Don't be stupid, Kurosaki. I know you're not as dumb as you let on. I believe we've had this discussion before."

Ichigo smirked. "We may have. But you can't talk to him right now. We're busy. Talking about secrets." He said and then chuckled. Harry snorted and then coughed in an attempt to hide it.

Toshiro glared between the both of them. "What's gotten into you two? What are you hiding?"

"_Nothing_." Ichigo said tauntingly. "What makes you think we're hiding something? We don't have anything to _confess_ about."

Harry coughed again and slid off the recliner. "I'll talk to you later, Ichigo." Harry said as he headed out the door.

"Hey, Harry." Ichigo called. Harry turned and Ichigo winked. "Remember, mum's the word. No spilling secrets."

Harry smirked. "Got it."

"What was that about?" Toshiro asked as he and Harry entered the room they shared. Toshiro closed his bedroom door and went to sit on the edge of his bed.

Harry shrugged and sat on his own bed. "Nothing really. Ichigo was just doing it to see if he could get you mad. Or, madder than you already are." He hesitated and then asked tentatively, "You're not still mad, are you?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I'm not. And that's what I wanted to talk about. I don't usually like to do this, but I am big enough to admit when I was wrong. And I was wrong in snapping at you for no reason on your part. I shouldn't have taken my irritation out on you, and for that I apologize."

Harry stared at him, eyes wide in surprise, and then flushed. "Oh, it's okay. I don't blame you or anything. I understand that you were mad about something and I just happened to show up at that moment. I understand wanting to take your anger out on the first thing you see and I'm not saying that it's okay or something. But I do forgive you. I'm not holding it against you or anything. I just wanted to know what it was that had gotten you so upset. The last time I saw you like that was the night you picked me up from Magnolia Crescent after the whole deal with Aunt Marge, and you were yelling at me for being a prat."

Toshiro looked at him in confusion. "A prat?"

"A jerk, I guess." Harry clarified. "I was being ignorant and selfish that night. You know, with the whole parent thing? But that was the last time I saw you like that. So what was it about?"

Toshiro shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You don't need to worry about it."

"But you told Rangiku, right?" Harry asked innocently.

Toshiro nodded. "Yes. Why?"

Harry shrugged. "You seem to tell her a lot of things. I was just wondering."

Toshiro looked at him curiously but shrugged. "I guess. I've known her longer than the others. It just feels natural to tell her. I don't tell her everything, but I do tell her only what she needs to know. Nothing more."

"Oh." Was all Harry said. "By the way, speaking about the night I blew up my aunt, I have a question."

"You always have a question." Toshiro smirked.

Harry flushed. "Yeah, I know. Sorry. But what I was going to ask was that, when I first met you, I asked you about the man who had bought this house, right?" Toshiro nodded but didn't speak. Harry continued. "And you said he was your dad. Yet that night with Aunt Marge, you said that your parents were dead. Is he really your dad?"

Toshiro blinked, outwardly seeming thoughtful while inwardly scolding himself for the slip. _Damn it, why didn't I think about that? Ukitake wasn't even supposed to be in this situation. I should have made sure to remember that detail better. What should I say?_ Finally, he decided on an explanation. "He is my father, in a way. He's not biological. Like I said, my parents died when I was young. Ukitake, that's his name, he sort of took me in; he raised me discreetly sometime afterwards. I lived with my grandmother for a few years but eventually she was too old and she died. And after she did, that was when Ukitake took me in. so, in a way, he is my father. Because he's the only father figure I really know." _Talk about laying it on thick._ He thought as he waited to see if Harry would buy his story. _I hate sappy stories._

"Oh, I see. But is that why you called him by his name instead of dad or something?" Harry asked.

Toshiro nodded. "Yes. I've gotten used to calling him by his name, and he hasn't tried making me call him anything else."

Harry looked at him thoughtfully. _That makes sense. I guess I can understand that. After all, I didn't have much of a mother figure until I met Mrs. Weasley. She's the closest thing I have to a mother figure and she hasn't tried making me call her mom. And I still haven't found a father figure. Wish I did though._ "I get it. I know what that's like. It was years before I knew what a mother should act like. This whole time, I thought Aunt Petunia would be the only mother type of person I would ever have. I had no idea that there were mothers that were a lot kinder than her. One of my friends, his mother sort of adopted me into the family. She fusses over me a lot because of what she's learned of the way the Dursley's treat me. It's kind of awkward but it's nice, I guess."

"The Dursley's are idiots." Toshiro said, glad Harry accepted his explanation. _Now I need to make sure I keep with that little detail._

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But right now, they're the only family I have, unfortunately."

* * *

On Sunday, everyone attempted to squeeze in a last minute practice before lunch as they began packing up their belongings and placing them in their trunks. Harry, whose belongings never actually left his trunk in the first place, offered to help the others pack but all of them had refused, claiming that they were used to doing it on their own. So Harry headed down the stairs and began pulling things out of the fridge, deciding that he could at least help with lunch while everyone packed. There wasn't much food left because no one wanted to go grocery shopping when they weren't planning on being here much longer anyways. Harry evaluated what was left in the fridge before deciding to go with something quick and easy and began grabbing ingredients he would need to make Onigiri.

* * *

After lunch, everyone finished up the last of their packing and placed out whatever they needed for the morning. Once they were finished, they contributed to a last dinner in the kitchen before settling around the table in the dining room. After several minutes of meaningless chatter, Toshiro cleared his throat, demanding silence. "We'll be getting up pretty early tomorrow." he began. "The spell on the house deactivates at exactly eleven o'clock in the morning. We must be gone before then. Ukitake will be here around ten o'clock to pick us up and take us to the Leaky Cauldron. Afterwards, he's going to return here and make sure we didn't leave anything behind and to make sure the spell deactivates properly. I want everyone up, dressed, and whatever else you need to do in the mornings, and be down here, packed and with your stuff, and be ready to leave at exactly ten o'clock. Once he's here, I don't want to hear anyone say they left something in their room. Be down here on time. That should give everyone enough time to shower without fussing. And I don't want to hear _**any**_ arguing in the morning. I swear, if I do, whether or not everybody is awake, you will be sorry. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone nodded. "Good." He said. "If I have to, I'll decide the order in which everyone showers but I trust that by now, you can do it yourselves. Don't prove me wrong."

After dinner, Harry went back up to the room, after helping Renji, Ichigo, and Rukia with clearing the table and doing the dishes, and sat on his bed. He was leaving Privet Drive with Toshiro and the others tomorrow morning. Normally the idea of leaving Privet Drive would have him feeling as light as air but now, he wasn't sure he wanted the summer to end just yet. It had been the most fun and entertaining summer he had ever had, not only on Privet Drive, but at all. He had learned so much about his new friends and about their culture and the way they lived. He actually enjoyed learning how to make the different types of food they ate and teaching them the foods eaten here in England. He didn't mind doing the ordinary household chores, he liked helping everyone with breakfast, lunch and dinner, he enjoyed helping Rangiku with the beautiful garden they had created, and he even enjoyed the occasional sparing matches Ichigo and Renji had with him. He liked learning more hand to hand combat moves, moves he felt would be quite useful with Dudley in the future. He liked the feeling he got when he was finally able to break a board with his fist without screaming in pain, though he still was nowhere near Ichigo, Renji, Rangiku, Rukia, or even Toshiro's levels, who were all able to break the dining room table with no problems.

But what Harry felt he would miss the most was the feeling of having a family. If he had to imagine what a family would look like in their own home, this is how he would imagine them. Everyone working together during meals, helping each other, laughing together, arguing together, and just being a family. He knew none of them were related in any way and they probably lived completely different lives when they were in their own country, in their own homes, but during the entire time he had been living with them, he felt almost natural. He felt as though, if he were on his own, he would be able to get by just fine. But right now, the idea of summer break coming to an end was not as appealing as it had been the first two summers and Harry almost felt surprised by his sudden realization.

"When I get a family of my own, this is how I want them to act." He told himself.

"Talking to yourself is a sign of a nut." Rangiku said from the doorway. She laughed as Harry jumped, startled, and walked into the room to sit on Toshiro's bed, petting a sleeping Suna. "Where's Taicho?" she asked.

Harry pointed up at the ceiling. "Last I checked he was up on the roof. And I heard him muttering to himself about paperwork, I think."

"Paperwork? He's still doing it?" Rangiku said with a frown. "I would have thought he'd stop. Or at least finish by now." Rangiku stood up and walked between the beds to the window. "Taicho, come down!" she called into the night.

A minute later, Toshiro appeared on the windowsill, a small stack of paper held in one hand. "Stop calling me that." He snapped at Rangiku.

"Oh, relax." Rangiku said casually. She gestured to Harry and then looked back at Toshiro. "I already told him what it meant and that 'taicho' was a nickname I gave you because you act so much like a leader. There's no need to be shy."

Toshiro glared at her and then turned to Harry. "Do **not** start calling me that. Especially not at the school. People may not know what it means at first but it's not that hard to find out. The last thing I need is for people to start calling me 'captain'."

"Is that why Renji stopped when he started to call you captain at dinner that one time?" Harry asked. "Because you don't like it?"

Rangiku nodded before Toshiro could respond. "It is. The others got into the habit of calling him taicho or captain from spending so much time around us. Taicho doesn't really like it because he thinks we're teasing him."

"That's not it." Toshiro snapped.

"Then why?" Rangiku asked.

"Just because. I have my reasons." Toshiro replied.

Rangiku rolled her eyes. "Anyways, what's with the paperwork? Harry said you were working on it but I thought you finished?"

Toshiro nodded. "I did but Urahara sent an owl with more, so I gave it what I had completed and took the new ones. I'll be trading again once we get to Diagon Alley and I buy an owl to use."

"You'll need to look for one that flies long distances." Rangiku said.

Toshiro nodded. "I know. By the way," he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. "Urahara sent this to me."

Rangiku looked it over and frowned slightly. "Another one? And what about the others?"

"They'll be in it too." Toshiro answered.

"In what?" Harry asked.

Toshiro smirked and placed the pages in his bed side table and cast a spell over it to keep people out. Rangiku winked at him before heading out of the room, calling behind her. "You'll see."

* * *

The next morning was spent with everyone rushing to get ready while they made sure, for the umpteenth time, that they hadn't forgotten anything. Twice, Rangiku barged in on Harry; once while he was in the shower, she burst into the bathroom to grab a hair tie she left on the sink, and the second time, she had burst back into the bathroom just as Harry was putting on his pants, claiming that she had forgotten her tooth brush. After the second time, Harry quickly finished getting dressed and headed back into the bedroom to dump the rest of his things into his trunk and slam it shut.

"You finished?" Toshiro asked as he walked into the bedroom. He had gone downstairs before Harry had gotten into the shower to put his trunk by the stairs and go through the kitchen, dining room, living room, and back yard, making sure no one had left anything behind. "If you are, take your trunk downstairs and put it by the door. The sooner everyone is finished packing and ready to go, the sooner we can leave once Ukitake comes to get us."

Harry nodded and pulled on his socks and shoes before grabbing his trunk and dragging it out of the room and down the stairs to be set beside Toshiro's and one other trunk. The second trunk, a silver one with a black metal trim, Harry recognized as Ichigo's. Harry bent down close to examine the trunk, reading Ichigo's name in English and, he assumed, in Japanese. Then he bent closer and noticed the small picture etched into the metal beside the names; it was a picture of two swords, one long and thin and the other long and thick and looking a bit like a thick butcher knife, both crossed over each other in the shape of an X. Harry wondered, not for the first time, what the significance was for the picture. Earlier, he had seen Toshiro's trunk and had noticed the long jagged-looking dragon coiled around Toshiro's name. Harry stepped over and glanced down at Toshiro's trunk again, noticing the dragon etched into the metal.

"What are you doing?" Harry whirled around to see Rukia descending the stairs, her trunk in tow. She wore a soft purple shin-length skirt and a white shirt under a soft purple sweater. He noticed an odd floral symbol over her left breast as she walked past him to set her trunk against the wall and Harry saw an odd symbol, a word in Japanese he assumed, on the back of the sweater in the center of a circle, and he realized that it was the same as the picture he had seen on all of them the first day they had arrived on Privet Drive.

Realizing that she was expecting an answer, he mentally shook himself, clearing his head. "I was just looking at the trunks. I've never seen trunks like these before. They're not made from anything I've ever seen and there are pictures etched on each one. I was just wondering what the pictures mean."

Rukia shrugged. "Everyone has something symbolic that represents them. Toshiro has a dragon because that's what he likes. Ichigo has swords because that's what he likes. And so on and so on. As for the trunks themselves, they weren't made here in England. They were made in Japan by one of the other teachers."

"Oh, I see." Harry said. "What's yours?"

Rukia's expression brightened and she pointed down at her trunk. "Chappy!" she exclaimed excitedly. Harry walked over to her and glanced down at her trunk. Her name was written in English and Japanese and beside it was the head of a cartoon-looking rabbit, looking up out of the metal with big round eyes and long ears.

Harry raised an eyebrow and looked up at her. "Chappy? What's a Chappy?"

"Only the best bunny in the world." She said. She pulled out a small notebook from the pocket of her sweater and quickly scribbled on one of the pages before turning it around and showing it to him. On the page was a cartoonized picture of a rabbit, with long white ears and big round eyes, and standing in the middle of the page on its hind legs. "This is Chappy."

"Chappy's stupid." Ichigo mumbled as he descended the stairs.

Rukia glared at him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing." Ichigo said, placing his trunk down beside Harry's. He leaned down and whispered into Harry's ear as Rukia turned to place her notebook back into her pocket. "Don't ask about that stupid rabbit, or else she'll never shut up."

"Got it." Harry whispered back. He stared at Ichigo's clothing as Ichigo straightened up and began speaking to Rukia. He was wearing a black sweater with a gray hood and black hood strings. He noticed that there didn't seem to be any floral symbols anywhere on his sweater, his red t-shirt, or on his black jeans, nor was there any symbol with a circle like Rukia's. Instead, there was a strangely squared four-pronged spiral sewn over both pockets of his sweater, as well as a larger squared spiral across the back.

"What are you staring at?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

Harry shook his head. "Nothing. I was just noticing the symbol on your pockets and on the back of your sweater. It's different from Rukia's and it's different from everyone else's that I saw when you guys first got here."

Ichigo looked down at the symbol on his pockets and then at the symbol on the front of Rukia's sweater, as if seeing them for the first time. "Oh. Yeah, I like to be unique." Ichigo said with a shrug. Rukia rolled her eyes but decided not to comment.

"How much longer do we have before Ukitake gets here?" Renji asked as he headed down the stairs towards them, his trunk slung over his shoulder. He set it down beside Harry's and Harry was able to see the picture etched onto the metal. He was a bit surprised to see that Renji had, not one, but two pictures on his trunk. Beside his name in English, there was a picture of a gorilla standing on all fours with a scowl on its face and beside his name in Japanese, there was a picture of a fierce-looking coiled snake, it's tongue sticking out of its mouth as if to taste the lines that made up Renji's name.

"He should be here in another ten minutes." Harry heard Ichigo reply to Renji, though his voice sounded far away, as Harry stared at the picture of the snake, which seemed to be staring right back at him with its one visible eye, watching him.

"What are you doing?" asked a voice beside him. Harry barely registered the voice as belonging to Rangiku as his imagination began running away with him, making him imagine that the snake had blinked at him. _But it's a picture._ He told himself. _Pictures don't blink. At least not this one._ "Harry? What's wrong?" Rangiku asked.

"_Nothing._" Harry replied, not taking his eyes off of the snake. He didn't notice Toshiro pausing half way down the stairs, or Rangiku taking a step away from him, or that everyone seemed to tense and instinctively reach to their side in an attempt to grab their sword. Nor did he realize that he had answered Rangiku, not with words, but with a menacing hiss. He did, however, notice Ichigo's shout.

"**What the hell was that?"**

Harry finally tore his eyes away from the trunk and looked up at the others, blinking several times in an attempt to clear the lingering image of the snake from his sight. He took in the hostile looks from the others and took an instinctive step back, nearly tripping over his own trunk. "What? What's wrong?"

No one answered for a moment before Toshiro continued descending the stairs and stopped before him, scrutinizing him carefully, his hand in his pocket, no doubt clutching the only other weapon he had at the moment. "Harry, why did you do that?" he asked, his voice layered with cautious hostility.

"Do what?" Harry asked in confusion. He noticed that the others seemed to resemble a snake a bit; all of them were staring at him with a look of apprehension, as if waiting to spring at the first hint of danger. "What did I do?"

"Rangiku asked you what was wrong because you looked almost hypnotized. And you hissed at her, almost threateningly. Why?" Toshiro explained.

Harry's eyes widened in horror as he suddenly realized what had happened. Then he sighed and sank down onto his trunk, his hands covering his face as he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I couldn't help it. I didn't even notice I was doing it."

"Doing what?" Toshiro asked.

Harry sighed again. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want them to find out about this. The last thing he wanted was for his new friends to suddenly decide to abandon him because they found something that associated him with Voldemort. _But wait. They haven't even said anything about Voldemort_. Harry thought. _They're wizards, even if they're Japanese, and yet they didn't react the same way everyone else does when they hear my name. Nor did they mention Voldemort. Why not? Not that I'm complaining but it is an unusual reaction. Do they even know about Voldemort in Japan?_ _Maybe I'm not famous over there. Maybe they won't treat me like everyone else._

"Harry?" Toshiro asked.

Harry looked up. They were all staring at him, though he was glad that a lot of the hostility had been replaced with curious apprehension and caution. _If I tell them, will they start treating me the same as everyone else? No, they don't seem like the types to hero-worship much, and I doubt they would about a villain that has nothing to do with them._ Making up his mind, Harry decided to tell them the truth. But where should he start?

"Okay, first, do you know who Voldemort is?" Harry, who had been expecting a slight cringe or violent flinch at the name, was a little pleased when they merely shook their heads, though, secretly, they were hoping that by feining ignorance about Voldemort and Harry's history with him, they would be able to learn something new that could help with their investigation. "Okay, well he's this evil wizard that killed hundreds of witches and wizards years ago. He was the one who had killed my parents when I was a year old. He also tried to kill me, but I don't know why. But for some reason, he wasn't able to kill me, and, again, I don't know why. After he failed to kill me, he disappeared and no one has heard from him since. This was about thirteen years ago. However, I came face to face with him two years ago, during my first year at Hogwarts. He was using a teacher, Professor Quirrel, to get something called the Philosopher's Stone. This stone made whoever owned it immortal. And Voldemort was trying to steal it from the school, where it was being hidden. With the help of my best friends, I managed to stop him. The stone was destroyed but then he got away; Professor Quirrel died later, after Voldemort abandoned him."

Harry paused to take a breath before continuing. He didn't want to stop to answer questions until he was completely finished. He didn't think he would be able to start again if he stopped. "Then last year, I ended up encountering a kind of diary or journal with some kind of memory or something of him during his time at Hogwarts. He possessed the mind of my best friend's little sister and made her write messages on the walls saying that something called the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. It hadn't been opened in fifty years and the last time it did, a muggle born died." He paused again. "You do know what a muggle born is, right?"

"Someone who was born from a muggle?" Ichigo guessed.

Harry nodded. "Yes. Muggle borns are looked down on because they're not, what most call, pure bloods. They either had a mother or father or both as muggles and that made them less than the pure bloods. But that's not true. My other best friend is muggle born and she's one of the cleverest witches in our year." Harry said firmly and gave them a look, as if to dare them to say otherwise. "But one of the creators of the school, Salazar Slytherin, hated muggle borns and wanted the school to be all pure bloods. The Heir of Slytherin, as he was called, attacked muggle borns with a giant monster of a snake called a Basilisk. It's a giant poisonous snake that can kill just by looking directly into the eye of its victim. But last year, instead of attacking muggle borns, it used my friend's sister to lure me into the chamber to kill me. During that time, I learned that I have the ability to talk to snakes. Its called Persaltongue and its what represents Salazar Slytherin _and_ Voldemort. For the longest time, everyone thought I was the Heir of Slytherin because of it. But I'm not, nor have I ever been. I didn't even know I spoke a different language at all. To everyone else, it sounds like hissing but to me, every time I look at a snake and I try hard enough, I can speak it but it sounds normal to me. Sometimes it happens without my trying. But I didn't mean anything by it."

"So snakes represent this Slytherin guy?" Renji asked skeptically. He glanced down at his trunk and scowled back at Harry. "Well, so what? I like snakes, but that doesn't mean I support this Slytherin guy. I could care less about muggle borns or pure bloods. What the heck is up with this country and being prejudice? First it was your uncle and now the whole school?" He made a show of crossing his arms over his chest and turning to Toshiro. "Do we have to go to this school? I had enough prejudice bastards breathing down my neck at home. I don't need it here."

"Neither do I." Ichigo said, playing along. "I mean it; I'm not going to play nice if they start bagging on me about my parents. Who the hell cares if they were wizards or not? It won't stop me from kicking their asses if they mess with me."

"I won't stand for it either." Rangiku declared, placing her hands on her hips and pouting down at Toshiro. "I'm not dealing with that again. I've put up with it at home because I had to. But I won't do that here, I'm telling you right now."

"Why are the English so mean?" Rukia asked, making a show of burying her face in her hands.

"Wait, not everyone is like that." Harry said quickly. He didn't want to give them the wrong impression of Hogwarts. He liked Hogwarts and he knew that there were plenty of people there who didn't care about blood. "There are plenty who get along just fine with each other. Both of my parents were a witch and wizard and dozens of my other friends are both muggle borns and pure bloods and they associate with each other just fine. It's mostly just Slytherin. There's even a half giant at the school. And he's great. He's nice and friendly and everyone likes him; except the Slytherins but they only like each other anyway."

Rukia removed her hands from her face and smiled brightly, all earlier sorrow non-existent. "Oh, okay then."

"We don't have a choice either way." Toshiro said. "We'll just have to do our best to _ignore it_." He eyed the others as he put emphasis on the last two words.

Just then a knock was heard from the front door, making Harry jump slightly, though the others seemed unfazed. Toshiro walked passed Harry and opened the door. The white-haired man Harry had seen before stood on the other side, a friendly smile spread across his kind face. He was tall, though not as tall as the scary man had been, and wore a white jacket, similar to Toshiro's, though the floral symbol on the front and the circle symbol on the back were the same as Rukia's.

"Well, I guess it's safe to say that you're all ready to go?" he asked, eyeing the trunks piled in front of the door in amusement.

Toshiro nodded. "Just about."

"Then let's get these in the truck, shall we?" he stepped aside to allow Ichigo and Renji to lead the way out of the house with their trunks, before following behind Toshiro and Harry, who brought up the rear. "And you must be Harry Potter." He said as he fell into step between the two. "It is nice to finally meet you in person."

Harry stopped beside the large black truck, careful to avoid being seen by the Dursleys, should they happen to peek out of their windows at the truck. He set his trunk down and shook Ukitake's pale hand. "It's nice to meet you too. Toshiro's hasn't really said much about you but at least I get to meet his dad in person."

Ukitake's expression brightened at the mention of being Toshiro's father and decided to play along. "Oh, yes. It is nice. Toshiro has been such a good son and I am proud to call him so."

Toshiro cleared his throat. "Ukitake, I need to speak with you."

"Of course." Ukitake followed Toshiro a little ways away from the truck to stand almost in front of the living room window. "Father?" he asked in amusement.

Toshiro scowled and quickly explained the situation. After he was done, he glanced back towards Harry, who was helping hoist the trunks into the truck bed. "I hadn't thought of a story for you so I just went along with his idea at the time. I was planning on telling you before you got here but it's difficult getting letters sent to Japan."

"I understand." Ukitake said. "Don't worry; I'll stick with the story. Anything else?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, we learned some new information about him, which I will put in my report later, but we just had a situation where we instinctively reached for our zanpaktou's before remembering that they were in our trunks. Isn't there any way to fix that? I don't like not having Hyorinmaru at my side."

"Oh, yes. I know what you mean." Ukitake said with a frown. "That would feel extremely uncomfortable to all of you, I'm sure. I'll talk to Kurotsuchi and see what he can do, and get back to you before you leave for the train. It might not be a good idea to keep your zanpaktou in the dimensional pocket of your trunks for the whole year. Will you guys be alright until then?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, we'll manage. And if there's nothing he can do, we'll figure something out."

The two of them nodded and headed back to the rest of their group. "Right, now that we're all packed and ready to go, shall we?" Ukitake asked.

Everyone nodded and began piling into the back seat of the truck, with Toshiro and Rangiku sliding into the front beside Ukitake. As Ukitake pulled away from the house, Harry, who was sitting in the middle with Rukia, peered around Ichigo to gaze at the place that he had spent the better part of his summer vacation in, wondering if he would ever have another summer like this, and wondering if the rest of the year would be just as eventful. A small sinking filling filled his belly as he turned in his seat and watched the house disappear from his view in the rear window.

* * *

The group arrived at the Leaky Cauldron twenty minutes later, though Harry suspected that they would have gotten there much earlier if Ukitake hadn't purposely decided to turn onto every street with bumper to bumper traffic, enjoying the lovely British scenery, as he claimed. Harry hadn't really minded, one way or another, as he had felt that the moment they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, summer vacation would officially be coming to an end, what with only two weeks left until September 1st.

"Well, I guess this might be the final time I see you guys until the end of the year." Ukitake said as he helped everyone get their stuff out of the back of the truck before smiling and shaking each hand in turn. Then he turned to face the group at large. "Take care, all of you. And behave." Rangiku grinned as he eyed her warningly, before scanning the rest of the group. Then he grinned. "Have fun! And keep me posted."

Toshiro and the others watched him climb into the truck and drive away before Toshiro led them into the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, the innkeeper, looked up briefly as he placed a mug of some smoky substance in front of a tall, gangly witch in a red robe and orange shawl. Then he headed over to them. "Your rooms are ready for you when you are." He beckoned them with a long finger as he headed up the stairs. He led them down a hall before stopping in front of a door with a brass number nine near the top. "Here we are. Your rooms are nine, ten and eleven. I believe it is safe to assume that you will be doubling?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, we will. I believe we can manage from here. Thank you for your kindness." Toshiro and the other shinigami gave Tom a slight half-bow, to which Tom flushed and waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh no, no. It's quite alright." He said hastily. "There's no need to be so formal."

Toshiro watched as Tom made his way back down the hall and started descending the stairs before turning and facing the others. "Room nine will be shared by Ichigo and Renji; ten will be shared by Rangiku and Rukia; and eleven will be shared by Harry and me. **Do not** cause trouble during our stay. That goes double for you three." He glared at Ichigo and Renji before his eyes lingered on Rangiku. "Otherwise, you shall meet your consequences when we get home."

Harry smirked inwardly, still not used to seeing the others listen so readily to someone half their size. Except for Rukia, who was only taller than him by a few inches it seemed. Then he followed Toshiro towards the door with the brass number eleven and entered the room. Toshiro took the bed closest to the window and placed his trunk at the foot before glancing up as Renji and Ichigo entered the room.

"Why do I have to share with him?" they asked simultaneously.

Toshiro glared. "Because I'm not putting up with either of you deranged monkeys. I'm used to sharing rooms with Rangiku but I didn't feel that it would be fair to Rukia or Harry if I made them bunk with either of you. So you're stuck together." Then he smirked mischievously. "But if it really bothers you that much, I'm sure I can arrange a _suitable_ sleeping space for one of you. All you need to do is ask."

Ichigo and Renji scowled. "No, thanks." Renji muttered. Then he and Ichigo slouched out of the room as Rangiku rushed in.

"Taicho, have you seen these rooms?" she said as she scanned his and Harry's room with distaste. "It's hideous. Almost as much as that dreadful house we lived in before. What is wrong with these people? Are they really that blind?"

Toshiro sighed exasperatedly. "Try not to insult anyone, Matsumoto." He said in monotone. "You'll only be here for two and a half weeks. Get over it. And don't do anything to the furniture or the décor without consulting me or the innkeeper."

Rangiku pouted. "But taicho-"

"No, buts." Toshiro said in a tone that forbad argument. Rangiku's pout deepened but she reluctantly headed back to her room. Toshiro rolled his eyes and looked at Harry. "Trust me; not much is going to change in regards to commotion just because we moved from one living space to another."

Harry smirked. "Right. By the way, when did you purchase these rooms? Was it when you came here the first time?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I left once during the summer, remember? This is where I went."

"Oh. I see."

* * *

After everyone had gotten settled into their new rooms, albeit with heavy arguing from Renji and Ichigo's room, the five Soul Reapers and Harry headed down to the main room of the Leaky Cauldron and made their may out the back door to the entrance to Diagon Alley. Once the gate was open and they stepped in, Harry turned to the others.

"You guys have already gotten your school supplies, right? Well, I guess I better go do that then." Harry said. "Do you guys want to meet anywhere later?"

"Actually, we need to get some more supplies ourselves." Renji said as he leaned against the wall of the closest shop and crossed his arms over his chest.

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, we need to get potions ingredients, as well as ink and parchment, cauldrons, scales, and other such things needed for the school year. All we got that other day was our wands and textbooks."

"We also need robes and the rest of the school's uniform." Rukia said.

"Ew, I am not looking forward to wearing those hideous robes. If they're anything like what everyone else here in Diagon Alley are wearing, then this year is going to suck big time." Rangiku frowned and then perked up. "But maybe I can fix that. Oh, yes, I can see it now…"

"Matsumoto." Toshiro warned half-heartedly, not really caring too much on the subject. "Don't do anything too extravagant. This isn't a fashion show; it's a school. I believe they focus more on what they can do, rather than what they wear. I repeat: don't insult or offend anybody during our stay."

"Yes, yes. Of course." Rangiku said, waving her hand dismissively. "Now, the first thing I would do, would be…"

Toshiro sighed and turned to the rest of the group. "Okay, well the first things we should get are our potions equipment and ingredients. That way we can work on the potions we need to practice making."

"Wait, don't you already have stuff for potions?" Harry asked. "Didn't you have Potions classes in any of your other schools or wherever you were before?"

Ichigo shook his head. "Nah, we learned something similar, but not the same as how it shows in the textbook. Our potions stuff was a lot more technical."

"Besides, technically, Potions was considered a science where we were from." Renji put in. "There was a specific group of students who worked that department, so Potions wasn't really mandatory. It was optional, I guess you can say."

"I wish it was optional for us." Harry muttered bitterly. "Our Potions professor is a real prat."

"Prat?" Ichigo asked in confusion. He shared an equally confused look with Renji and Rukia. Rangiku continued to ignore them, muttering to herself about how she was going to improve the school uniforms for them. Ichigo turned back to Harry. "Does that mean like 'prick' and 'brat' together or something?" Renji snickered.

"Um, I guess it can." Harry said. He still wasn't quite yet used to Ichigo and the others speaking so freely with crude words. If Aunt Petunia, or even Mrs. Weasley, heard him speak like that, Aunt Petunia would probably shove a bar of soap into his mouth, and he was afraid to think what Mrs. Weasley would do. Ron would probably burst out laughing and he had a feeling Hermione would click her tongue at him disapprovingly.

"I take it this Potions professor is your all-time favorite teacher ever?" Renji asked innocently with a smirk.

Harry frowned. "Hardly. He's the worst. Everyone hates him and he hates everyone except his own Slytherin students. He's head of their house, you know. He's extremely unfair and is always looking for an excuse to give everyone more homework and take points from us. Especially Gryffindors."

"Points?" Rukia asked. "What points?"

"During the school year, each house, there are four, we compete with the others for house points." Harry explained. "We get points for answering questions correctly in class, doing good things for our house, stuff like that. At the same time, we lose points for getting in trouble, getting detentions, things like that. Then, at the end of the year, all of the points earned get totaled up and the house with the most points wins the house cup and bragging rights."

"That's it?" Ichigo asked with a scowl. "We don't get any cash or anything? That's a rip off."

"How many times do I need to tell you guys not to insult or offend anyone?" Toshiro grumbled. "Don't talk like that while we're there. They obviously take pride it trivial stuff like that, so try not to comment."

"Trivial?" Harry asked. "It may not seem like much to you guys, but to us it's kind of a big deal. Especially since the Slytherins are always holding it against us when we lose. They had the house cup several years in a row and never let us live it down."

"So it's more about pride than anything else." Ichigo surmised.

Harry shrugged and nodded. "Yeah. Pride is kind of a big thing for us."

"Regardless, we need to get going." Toshiro said. "Since the Cauldron Shop and the Apothecary are right here, we'll go here first. I'm assuming you need to go to the bank, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm running pretty low."

"Where do you need to go? Besides the book store for your new books for the year." Toshiro asked.

Harry tapped his finger against his chin in thought. "I need to go to Madam Malkin's to get my robes resized. And I need to visit the Apothecary also, to replenish my potions ingredients. And I need to get more quills and ink."

"Do you have enough for your potions supplies right now?" Toshiro asked.

Harry nodded. "I should have enough for that at least. And maybe have a few Nuts and Sickles and maybe a Galleon left."

Toshiro nodded. "Alright, well then why don't you go into the Apothecary and we'll get our cauldrons and meet you in there? Or you can come with us into the Cauldron Shop and then we can all go into the Apothecary. Then after that, we'll head to the bank, you go in and get what you need and we'll meet you in the robe shop. I'd assume it would take more time to **make** our robes than it would to **resize** yours, so we should be in there for a while. And we'll work our way back from there. We need to get quills and ink as well. And we'll go from there."

Everyone nodded and they all headed into the Cauldron Shop, where the shinigami each paid for a cauldron and a set of scales and potions making tools. Then they all headed out and across the street to the Apothecary. There, they purchased all of the ingredients needed for basic potions making, as well as Toshiro buying an odd assortment of other strange ingredients, which he made no comment about to the others.

"Alright, let's get to the bank and robe shop." Toshiro said as they all reassembled out on the street once more.

"Is it just me or are there a lot of people staring at you guys?" Harry asked as they headed down the street to the large white marble building housing the vaults of each wizard or witch.

Ichigo glared at a group of passing witches as they ogled at them. They quickly scurried past, muttering to each other about shady people. "They've been doing it since we got here. They did it the first time we got here, too." He said. "Like they don't have anything better to do."

"Well, maybe it's your guys' appearances." Harry suggested.

"What's wrong with the way we look?" Rangiku demanded. "Are you saying they don't approve of the way we dress or something? I'll have you know that I made these outfits myself."

"It's not that." Harry said hastily. "It's just that, well, have any of you guys looked in a full-length mirror lately? Ichigo constantly looks like he's in a bad mood, Renji has his exotic tattoos, which especially isn't common on someone who should be a student at Hogwarts, Toshiro looks really young but still looks too serious for his appearance, plus his white hair is unusual, and I don't even have to explain about Rangiku. Rukia is probably the only one who looks even remotely like a possible student, although she kind of looks more like a first year than a third year. No offense, but you guys stick out like a living person in a room full of ghosts."

"Well, that's nice." Ichigo said with a scowl. "Well, we knew before we got here that we were going to stick out quite a bit. I mean, we're from a completely different country. There's bound to be a few rude people rubbernecking. I just didn't think there were so many **rude people staring!**" Ichigo snapped the last few words at a passing couple, who were openly staring at the group before flushing and scurrying past with quick apologies.

"Kurosaki." Toshiro muttered warningly, but with the tone that said clearly that he didn't care much. He sent an icy glare at a witch up the street, who eyed his group with suspicious interest from the entrance of another alley, whose sign stated that it was Knockturn Alley. She shrank back into the shadow of the building beside her as the surrounding temperature plummeted several degrees. "Try not to anger anyone. There seems to be quite a few shady characters around this part of the alley."

Harry looked in the direction he was looking. "Oh, that's Knockturn Alley. Pretty much all bad witches and wizards would be seen there. They have a lot of shops with dark artifacts and stuff. Not the best place to be."

"So, evil witches and wizards go there?" Toshiro asked, eyeing the alley with new suspicion, mimicked by the other shinigami.

"Well, we call them evil. But I guess we can't really say that." Harry said. "But yeah, pretty much. Well, here's Gringotts."

Toshiro turned his gaze to the outer double doors of the bank. "What's the explanation for the goblins?"

"They're creepy and all, but they're pretty good to have running the bank." Harry said. "The vaults have a lot of spells on them, and I know that anyone other than a Gringotts goblin who tries to get into one of the vaults would get sucked in until the goblins felt like checking on them. But they're pretty loyal, from what I've heard. Really cautious and protective of their vaults. I don't really know much more about them than that."

"Hmm." Toshiro shrugged and turned to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions. "We'll meet you in there when you're finished."

Harry nodded and headed into the bank as Toshiro and the others went into the robe shop. He walked up to an available goblin and told him he wanted to remove some money from his vault.

"Do you have your key, Mr. Potter?" the Goblin asked. Harry pulled his key from his pocket and handed it to the goblin. "Follow me."

Harry followed the goblin through a door and into one of the many carts used to get around in the tunnels. Harry and the goblin whizzed passed several other vaults, zooming left and right and down and up, until finally they stopped beside Harry's vault. Harry and the goblin climbed out of the cart, and after the goblin unlocked the door, Harry went in and grabbed a few handfuls of each type of coin before heading back into the cart with the goblin to endure the wild ride back to the surface.

Back on the street, Harry placed his money bag into his pocket and headed down to the robe shop. He stopped outside the shop just as someone tapped him on the shoulder. Harry jumped and spun around to come face to face with the last person he expected to see. Standing behind him was none other than Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself. Harry remembered him from last year, when he had taken Hagrid to Azkaban as a suspect of opening the Chamber of Secrets, which he was framed for years ago. Unfortunately, Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, were hidden under the invisibility cloak in Hagrid's cabin at the time.

"Harry, my boy. Oh, I've finally found you." Fudge pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and removed his bowler hat and wiped the sweat from his brow in relief before putting it back on. "Oh, thank goodness. We've been looking everywhere for you since you left your aunt and uncle's house."

Harry looked at him in confusion before he understood what Mr. Fudge was talking about. He had completely forgotten the reason he had left his aunt and uncle in the first place. He blew up Aunt Marge! There was only one reason he could think of for why Mr. Fudge himself would be looking for him. Was he going to take Harry to Azkaban? What was the penalty for blowing up a relative? Not only that, but he used magic outside of school and he's underage. He was going to be expelled. Would he ever see Ron and Hermione again?

"Cornelius Fudge here. Pleasure to meet you, my boy. But where _**have **_you been? Never mind, never mind, that's not important right now." Fudge patted Harry on the shoulder. "How are you doing? You're well, I hope? Now, first thing's first. We should get you a room at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Wait!" Harry said hastily. "I already have a room. I'm fine."

"Have you?" Fudge looked slightly bewildered and then narrowed his eyes at him. "Where on earth have you been, I wonder. You left your aunt and uncle's house and after about twenty minutes, you suddenly went off the grid. We couldn't find you anywhere. Where were you?"

"I-" Harry started.

"No matter." Fudge interrupted. "The important thing is that you're here now and you're safe. Now, I must tell you Harry, to stay here. Stay in Diagon Alley, Harry. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, but why?" Harry asked in confusion. Wasn't he going to be arrested? Wasn't he going to be expelled? What was going on?

"So we can keep an eye on you, of course." Fudge said simply. "Can't have you getting lost again, now. Just don't stray into Muggle London, eh? That's the ticket. Now-"

"Hang on." Harry said. "Aren't I in trouble? Aren't I going to be expelled or something?"

"What?" Fudge asked in surprise. He didn't know why but to Harry, Fudge seemed a bit flustered and he definitely wasn't making eye contact. "That's preposterous. Why would you be expelled?"

"Because I did underage magic." Harry said. "I blew up my aunt. I got a letter last year because a house elf used magic in my aunt's kitchen in front of muggles. It said that if I did any magic again, I would get expelled. Aren't you going to expel me or throw me in Azkaban or something?"

"Oh, Harry." Fudge chuckled nervously. "We don't throw people in prison for blowing up their aunts. Surely you don't _want_ to be expelled? It was an accident, easily reversed. We were able to deflate dear Margaret Dursley and erased the incident from her memory. Unfortunately your aunt and uncle remember everything and although they are very displeased with you, they agreed to take you back next summer on the deal that you remain at school during all other holidays."

"I always do." Harry muttered. "And I don't mind staying in Diagon Alley until the end of summer. I have no reason to go into Muggle London, seeing as how I don't have any muggle money."

"That's the spirit." Fudge said with obvious relief. "Now, I best be going. Much to do, you know."

"Wait, Mr. Fudge." Harry said as Fudge turned to head back to the Leaky Cauldron. "Um, my uncle forgot to sign my permission slip for the Hogsmeade trip that all third years are finally able to go to. So, I was wondering, since you're the minister and all, if you could sign it."

"Oh no, no." Fudge said hastily, his nervousness returning. "Seeing as how I am neither your parent nor legal guardian, I'm afraid I can't."

"But, you're the minister." Harry said pleadingly. "Can't you do anything."

"Afraid not." Fudge said. "No, I'm afraid I can't. In fact, I believe it would be best if you didn't go to Hogsmeade this year. Yes, that would be best. Well, have a good day, Harry. Enjoy the rest of your summer." And with that, he turned and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry watched him go with a frown. What was that about? Why would he say that it would be better if Harry didn't go to Hogsmeade this year? And why was he so nervous? Harry shook his head and decided to push the subject to the back of his mind for later and instead headed into Madam Malkin's robe shop.

"Who was that?" Toshiro asked as Harry stepped up beside him, watching as several witches pinned up everyone's robes to their appropriate lengths. Toshiro cocked his head towards the large window at the front of the shop. "That man in the bowler hat. Who was he?"

Harry shrugged. "He's the Minister of Magic. His name's Cornelius Fudge. He was looking for me. I thought he was going to expel me or throw me in Azkaban or something."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow and waited for the witch to start resizing Harry's robes before speaking again. "Why would he do that?"

"Because I broke the rules." Harry said. "I used underage magic in front of my aunt and uncle, who you know are muggles. That's illegal and so is doing magic while underage outside of school. A house elf used magic in my aunt's kitchen last summer and made a pudding crash all over the place and **I** got in trouble. I got a letter saying that they detected magic use at my place of residence and in front of muggles. They said that if they detected magic being used again, they would expel me. That's what I thought Fudge was going to do. But he didn't." Harry paused, his eyes narrowing in bewilderment. "In fact, I couldn't help feeling like he _**wanted**_ me to stay at school. Like he _**needed**_ me to stay there. He told me not to leave Diagon Alley or wander into muggle London. He said he wanted to keep an eye on me and keep me safe. But safe from what?"

Toshiro narrowed his eyes in thought but otherwise didn't comment. What could be the reason for acting that way? What were they trying to protect Harry from? Could it be from Voldemort? Or Sirius Black? Or the Dementors? All three? It couldn't be because of Voldemort. According to their sources and from what they heard throughout Diagon Alley the last time they were here, everyone was still convinced that Voldemort was truly dead. Why would they need to protect Harry, or anyone else for that matter, from something that was supposed to be dead?

It couldn't be the Dementors, could it? No, it couldn't. The Dementors were supposed to be being sent to Hogwarts to protect the students. Toshiro didn't trust anything that could suck out a soul, but these wizards obviously did. Why would they want to protect anyone from something they wished to use as protection themselves? That didn't make sense at all.

What about Sirius Black? Sirius Black is currently on the loose. He's an escaped convict, he was said to be dangerous and he was apparently a high supporter of Voldemort. Of course they would want to protect everyone from him. But why Harry in particular? Rumor had it that Sirius Black wanted to raise Voldemort from the dead. Could they suspect the same thing the shinigami suspected? Do they think that Black would want to kill Harry to either avenge Voldemort or use him somehow to bring him back using some dark spell? Or was there some other purpose?

"That's it for you, dear." The witch in front of Toshiro said as she straightened up. Toshiro hopped down from the stool he had been standing on and followed the witch to the counter at the front of the shop. She ducked behind a curtain and came back with a bundle of robes and Toshiro's day uniform. "There you are."

Toshiro took his school clothes from the witch and paid for them before thanking her with a small formal bow, causing the woman to flush with embarrassment from being bowed to, and headed out of the shop to wait for the others. Several minutes later, the rest of the group assembled outside the robes shop and made their way to the book store.

"Harry, we've already got our books and going in there for no reason would be a waste of time." Toshiro said. "Therefore, you go in and get your books and we will meet you next door in the stationary shop."

Harry nodded. "Alright. I'll meet you there then."

Several minutes later, Harry emerged from the book store with more than Fudge to worry about. The dog he had seen the day he left his aunt and uncle's. He had seen its picture on a book in the shop and the shop keeper had told him that seeing it was a bad omen. Is that what Harry had seen? Had he seen a dark omen? If so, what did it mean? What was going to happen? Harry shook his head with a frown. No, that was ridiculous. It was just a dog, nothing more. No need to get himself jumpy over something that could easily be explained away. With that thought, Harry entered the stationary shop and joined the others, forcing himself to forget about the dog and enjoy himself. It was still summer after all.

* * *

The rest of the week passed with relative ease. The shinigami became regular visitors of almost every shop in Diagon Alley, after Toshiro specifically ordered everyone to stay away from Knockturn Alley, and the other regulars and permanent residents soon became used to seeing the unusual teens out and about. Toshiro was please to find that now that Harry was back in the wizarding world, he no longer followed him around wherever he went. He seemed to gain back his own independence and for that, Toshiro was glad. He didn't mind the kid, but having a freely-walking, talking, and over-curious shadow was running his patience thin. He had felt a bit irritated when Renji had told him the other day that he thought Harry was like a lost baby chick, bent on sticking close to its mother. But once his back was free from Harry's constant presence, Toshiro couldn't help thinking that Renji had been right on track.

Eventually, Toshiro and the others began meeting other younger people, whom he figured must be students. He was surprised to find that he got along quite well with a boy he met in the stationary shop a week before the train to Hogwarts. He was with, whom Toshiro figured was, his grandmother, and she was scolding him for losing the list of his new books. Toshiro turned from the shelf of sky-blue feathered quills to the tearful boy and his stern voiced grandmother. Toshiro spotted a familiar looking piece of parchment, slightly crumpled, lying under a nearby shelf. He walked over and picked it up, smoothing it out to find that, as he had suspected, it was a list of third year textbooks. Toshiro headed back to the pair and tapped the boy on the shoulder.

"Is this what you were looking for?" Toshiro asked, holding the sheet out to him.

A look of immense relief flooded the slightly round-faced boy as he took the list from Toshiro. "T-thank you. Th-thank you so much." He stuttered.

"Thank you, young man." The boy's grandmother said as she took his hand in hers. "Neville is such a forgetful boy; he'd lose his head if it wasn't stuck on his neck. Neville, give me the list. I'll go get your books while you stock up on quills, ink and parchment. Don't forget the ink like you did last time. It's fine that you remembered the quills and parchment but you can't very well write without ink, now can you?"

Neville flushed as his grandmother tsked and headed out of the shop to the book shop next store. Then he turned back to Toshiro. "Sorry. Gran always gets upset with me when it comes to this sort of thing. I can't help when I forget things. I guess I just get so flustered that I forget what I'm doing or I'll accidently leave something behind or something. The only things I seem to have I good memory for are plants. I'm really good in Herbology but not much else. I'm sorry, I'm rambling on and I don't even know your name. I guess you already know that I'm Neville; Neville Longbottom. What's yours?"

Toshiro shook Neville's offered hand. "Toshiro Hitsugaya. I know it's different and possibly difficult to pronounce. Just call me Toshiro. It's pronounced toe-sheer-row. Toshiro."

"Toshiro." Neville said. "I think I can remember it. It'll probably take me some time to remember, though. Sorry."

Toshiro thought for a moment before asking. "You said you were good in Herbology, right?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah, I can remember plant names and their properties. And I can usually identify plants based on description or appearance. Why?"

"Well, what if you pretended that my name was the name of a plant." Toshiro suggested. "Since you remember plant names so well, if you think of my name as a plant's name, you should be able to remember it pretty well, wouldn't you?"

Neville's eyes widened in surprise at the odd suggestion but as he thought about it, he realized that it didn't sound like such a bad idea. "Yeah, I think I can do that. You're a new student at Hogwarts, aren't you?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, I'll be attending as a third year. I know I'm small, but I really am thirteen. I will actually be turning fourteen sometime in December. My companions and I are study abroad students from Japan and we're here to study English magic at Hogwarts before moving on to another town or country."

"Wow. That's pretty cool." Neville stared at Toshiro for another moment in fascination before realizing what he was doing. Flushing, he turned and began picking out bottles of ink before moving on to the quills. "So, where have you been so far?"

"China, different parts of Russia, Poland, Germany, Mongolia, India, and several other European countries." Toshiro answered, listing the countries they could have visited between Japan and Great Britain. "We might be going to Egypt after this, we're not entirely sure yet."

"That's amazing." Neville said as they made their way to the parchment. "I bet you know loads of different languages and spells, huh? Did you learn about any different plants in those countries?"

"A few." Toshiro answered. He did know a few special plants but most were in Japan and half were in Soul Society. "Most of the plants I know are from Japan but we didn't really have Herbology there. We just learned as we went, really."

"Oh, that's kind of neat." Neville said. He led the way to the register and paid for his items before they both made their way to the shop's door. "So your classes were mostly practical lessons, right?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that." Toshiro said. He was inwardly glad Neville wasn't as nosy and over-curious as a green-eyed, scar-bearing someone he could mention. They exited the shop and headed over to wait outside the book store for Neville's grandmother.

"Well, when we get to school, or I see you on the train, ask me for your name, and I'll see if I can remember it." Neville said.

"If that trick works for you and you remember my name, then you'll have to use it for the others in my group." Toshiro warned. "They all have foreign names like mine. I won't tell you their names now, just in case it confuses you, but I'll introduce you after we test out that trick."

Neville nodded as his grandmother emerged from the shop and headed in their direction. "I'll try to remember. Do you know what house you'll be in?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I believe we'll be 'sorted', whatever that means."

"It just means you'll be placed into whichever house fits you." Neville explained. He waved to Toshiro as he began following his grandmother down the street. "See you later, Toshiro. Hope you get placed in Gryffindor."

* * *

The next day was almost as eventful for Toshiro as the day before. Toshiro had decided to head into Flourish & Blott's to get the textbooks he would need for his Muggle Studies class and his Ancient Runes class. As he wandered down the isles, he rounded a shelf and found himself in front of a girl sitting cross-legged on the floor with a book in front of her face, blocking it from view. Her scraggly waist-length dirty blond hair hung around the sides of her head like a veil and when Toshiro looked closer, he noticed that the book was upside down.

"Hello." Said a voice from behind the book. Slowly the book lowered to reveal a wide-eyed, dreamy looking face staring up at him in open curiosity. "I like your hair."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "Thanks." He muttered. "Why are you reading that book upside down?"

"Because I can get more out of it." She said simply. "Why are you just standing there? I would assume you're looking for a book, seeing as how you're in a book store. Or are you looking for something else?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I'm looking for a couple of books but I wanted to wander around first and see if I can find anything else worth reading. Who are you?"

"I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood. And you?" She looked up at him expectantly with a dreamy expression, which he figured must be a permanent feature to her face.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya." He said, inwardly wincing at the thought of having to explain, yet again, how to pronounce his name. He was surprised, however, when she said his name properly the first time.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya. Your name is unusual but I bet where you're from, it would be considered normal." She said. "But here, it's unusual and unusual names are much more appealing than common ones."

"Right." Toshiro said while resisting the urge to roll his eyes. This girl was very strange but pretty straight forward, which Toshiro felt was a plus in any person. No riddles, half truths, or beating around the bush.

"Which books are you looking for?" she asked as she stood up with the book in one hand and a magazine in the other. "Maybe I can help. The memagords usually wander around playing with peoples memories. That's why people sometimes all of a sudden forget what they're doing. And the bimagords, which are the memagords' cousins, they try to hide what you're looking for. They're all quite mischievous."

_The what and the what?_ Toshiro thought perplexed. He decided to ignore it and instead answered her question. "I'm looking for _Ancient_ _Runes_ _Made_ _Easy_, _Home_ _Life_ _and Social Habits of British Muggles_, and a few rune dictionaries should help as well. I found those already but I need to find the rest at some point."

"I know where they are." Luna said dreamily. She pointed to the shelf in front of her. "On the other side of this shelf is the Muggle Studies types of books. And if you go down to the second shelf at the end of the next row, you'll find the Runes books." She pointed to the right.

Toshiro nodded to her. "Thanks." He headed around the shelf and soon found the book he needed. As he headed towards the shelf with the Runes books, he suddenly felt as though he were being followed. Turning to view over his shoulder, he noticed Luna following him. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, no. But thank you." She said softly as she continued to follow him, her wide eyes pinned on him unblinkingly.

"Why are you following me?" he demanded irritably.

"In case a memagord gets you. Or in case a bimagord tries to keep you from finding what you're looking for." She answered sincerely. "You can never be too careful when either of them are on the loose. And even more when they're together."

This time Toshiro turned away from her to roll his eyes. For some reason, he had a feeling that these _memagords_ and _bimagords_ didn't really exist. He quickly searched the shelf, ignoring Luna as she swatted at the empty air next to a row of books, and quickly found what he was looking for. Taking the two books, he headed back through the isles until he reached the counter at the back of the shop. "I'm ready now." He told the shop keeper.

The shop keeper nodded and pulled a small stack of slightly thicker books forward, the top one reading _Runes and Their Meanings_, and stuffed them, and his other textbooks, into a bag before handing it to him. "That'll be fifteen Sickles and four Knuts." He said.

Toshiro paid for his books, noticing that Luna was still behind him, and headed out of the shop, Luna close behind. Once outside, Toshiro sighed and turned to face Luna, who was nowhere in sight. Frowning, Toshiro looked this way and that before turning back around to find himself face to face Luna, her dreamy gaze making her seem not all there. "Are you going to keep following me?" he demanded.

Luna shook her head slowly, blinking almost owlishly. "No. I just wanted to make sure there were no lingering effects. They can be quite tricky you know. You seem to be fine. Are you going to be attending Hogwarts?"

Toshiro blinked at the sudden subject change but quickly recovered and nodded his head. "Yes, I am. And so is my entire group. We'll only be here for the year and then we'll head somewhere else."

"That's quite fascinating." She said dreamily. "I suppose you don't know what house you'll be in yet, do you? That's alright. I'm sure that whatever house you're in, you'll suit it best. You seem intelligent enough to be in Ravenclaw like me, but it's possible you'll be in Gryffindor. I doubt you'll be in Hufflepuff, unless the Kinchews try to trick the hat again. And Slytherin would suit you just fine if you're hiding a dark, sinister shadow in your self. But wherever you go, at least you'll be there and that's what matters." And with that, she turned on her heels and walked away with such a dazed look on her face that Toshiro expected that she may not even notice where she's going.

Toshiro shook his head, not even bothering to try to figure out the last part she said, and instead headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. So far, several of the other students he's met so far have either been utterly annoying, dimwitted, fair enough like Neville Longbottom, or plain strange like Luna Lovegood. And Toshiro was sure he hadn't even met half of the school yet. If this was how all of the students were going to be, then Toshiro felt that he and the rest of the shinigami had their work cut out for them.

* * *

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, except for Rangiku putting her finishing touches on their robes and day clothes before giving them back to their respectful owners. Toshiro had to admit that she didn't do that bad of a job as he examined his outer cloak two days before September 1st. The trim was outlined in a soft blue with his Division's symbol and number on the back in white. His robes also had the same symbol and numbering on the back, as well as a repeated pattern of the number and symbol spread all along his plain white scarf, which Harry told him would change to match his house colors.

"Wow, this is kind of neat." Harry said, pausing in his task of clearing his things off of his bed and onto the floor as he prepared for bed. He held up his cloak for Toshiro to see. Across the back, outlined in white, was the head of a lion, its mouth open in mid-roar, the entire head popping out against the black of the cloak. Several white lightening bolts surrounded the head in different sizes. "And look at this." He tossed his cloak onto the open lid of his trunk and pulled out his robe. A single large, white lightening bolt stood in the center of the back with smaller bolts surrounding it, all of them at such an angle that it made the bolts look as if they were all falling from the sky.

"That's nice." Toshiro said with a nod. He glanced down at the mess that defined Harry's side of the room and frowned. "How could one person make such a mess?" he asked.

Harry glanced down at his floor and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Force of habit."

Toshiro's frown deepened. "Is this how all of the students keep their rooms?" he asked.

"I don't know about the other houses or anything, but it's kind of like this in ours." Harry said with a grin. "Oh, and we don't have individual rooms. We share dorms. The Gryffindors in our year all share one dorm; about five to a dorm. But if any of you guys get placed in our dorm, they'll probably spread us out a bit more to make room. Most likely, they'll use magic to make room."

"Hmm." Toshiro mumbled. "Well we need to get everything in our trunks eventually. The sooner we get everything packed, the less packing we'll have to do when the time comes for us to head out."

"I'll do it tomorrow." Harry said as he got into bed. "We've still got one more whole day left before the first. It's not until the day after tomorrow."

"Still." Toshiro muttered before turning out the light. "It's best to always be prepared."

* * *

The next morning, the shinigami spread out around Diagon Alley as usual, except for Rangiku. Instead of heading out with the others, she wandered around the inside of the Leaky Cauldron, muttering to herself. As she wandered down to the main sitting and eating area, she spotted a group of people walking through the front door, all of them obviously related, judging by the similarities in appearance. The group was made of one boy, possibly sixteen years old, two younger twin boys, about fifteen, another younger boy, around Harry's age of thirteen, and a single girl, around the age of twelve, all with flaming red hair and various amounts of freckles. The two adults, obviously the parents, also had red hair and the mother seemed to be ushering them all into the Leaky Cauldron as orderly as possible. Behind the group, a single bushy brown haired girl, also Harry's age, ambled in with two nervous looking adults, whom Rangiku figured were her parents.

Rangiku watched as the brown haired girl turned to her parents and kissed them goodbye before she turned and followed the red headed group up the stairs, all of the children dragging trunks. Rangiku smiled as they passed her at the bottom of the stairs, inwardly smirking at the looks she got from **every** male of the group. Once they passed, she continued her observations of the inside of the dining area. Finally, she nodded to herself and headed back up to her room.

Once in her room, she grabbed a sheet of parchment, plopped onto her stomach on her bed and began doodling a simple sketch of the rooms. She could hear the voices of the group she had seen earlier but to ignore them as she sketched across the page for several long minutes before smiling at the page, admiring her handiwork so far, and jumped up from her bed. Clutching the sheet of parchment, she headed out of the room and back into the hall, searching around in such a way that made her look almost lost.

"Do you need help with anything, Deary?" a woman's voice asked from behind her.

Rangiku turned to find the plump woman she had seen with the group of red heads standing behind her, wearing a kind looking, motherly smile. Rangiku smiled back. "Oh, I don't know. I'm trying to find a place that could accommodate a large group of people for a birthday party." She said. "So that I can decide how to decorate."

The woman's face brightened. "Oh, how nice. Who's it for? A friend? Or a child? Would you like some help? I have a bit of experience with birthday parties, what with seven children and all. Would you like the help?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful." Rangiku said kindly. "The first thing I need is a place to set it up. I'm Rangiku, by the way. Rangiku Matsumoto. And you are?"

"Ah, Molly Weasley, but you can call me either Molly or Mrs. Weasley." She said. She looked a bit puzzled as she politely asked, "How do you pronounce your name? I'm afraid I'm not very good with foreign names."

Rangiku. It's pronounced Ran-gee-coo." Rangiku said patiently. Toshiro had told them several times that it would take time for everyone to get used to their names.

"I see. Rangiku." Mrs. Weasley said. "I'll have to remember that. Now let's see, there's a room we could use but we'll need to make sure it's available. I'll go check with Tom. I'll be right back."

Rangiku waited a few moments until Mrs. Weasley returned with a smile on her face. "We're in luck, it's still available." Mrs. Weasley led Rangiku to a door off to the side a ways and into a large room with a long rectangular table, large enough to seat at least twenty people comfortably.

"This is perfect." Rangiku said happily. She turned to Mrs. Weasley. "Since you're helping me so much, and since there's plenty of room, would you and your family like to join us?"

"Oh, no. I couldn't impose." Mrs. Weasley said with a small laugh.

"Please, I insist." Rangiku said. "Besides, it'll be more fun with more people. You don't have to know anyone. And technically, you know my name and I know yours, so in a way, you know me and I'm going to be there, so you'll know someone. Plus, a party isn't a party without people."

"Well, if you insist." Mrs. Weasley said. Then she cleared her throat and faced the room. "Now let's get to work, shall we?"

* * *

Several hours later, Harry headed back to the Leaky Cauldron with Ron and Hermione and her new large ginger cat Crookshanks. He was eager to get back and introduce his best friends to Toshiro and the others. He wasn't sure how they would react and he was sure Hermione at least would be shooting off questions a mile a minute. He'd have to warn Toshiro about that ahead of time. _If Toshiro hated when I asked questions, he's going to love Hermione._ Harry thought with a smirk. Harry led them up the stairs and into his and Toshiro's room, noticing Suna curled up in a ball on Toshiro's pillow.

"Harry, I'm assuming this side is yours." Hermione said as she pointed to the messy side of the room.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, this is my side. I know it's a mess; Toshiro has already complained to me about it. I'll clean it when I pack my stuff tonight."

"It would be a lot easier and much less hassle if you just kept it clean in the first place." Said an icy voice from behind them. The three jumped and whirled around, Ron with a startled yelp, to find Toshiro standing in the doorway, a scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. "It would save us both a lot of trouble."

"Right, sorry." Harry said, noticing the irritation in his roommate's voice and expression as he entered his room and pulled his trunk onto his bed and began leafing through the contents. "Is something wrong?"

Toshiro's scowl deepened as he paused and glanced up at Harry. "Yes. Very much so. Rangiku has decided to take it upon herself to throw a party for Renji's birthday. Not only that, but she's invited a large load of people to attend, people none of us even know." He took a closer look at Ron and scowled again. "People with your appearance. I assume they're related to you. The woman's name is Molly Weasley and she's been helping with the party setup."

Ron flushed. "That would be my mum. When it comes to kids and birthday parties, she's practically unstoppable." He said apologetically.

"Well, regardless, I told her not to cause trouble." Toshiro said as he continued searching through his trunk until he pulled out a button down ice blue silk shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Then he placed them on his night stand and began placing everything else neatly into his trunk. "If I were you, I'd get out whatever you're going to wear tomorrow and place them somewhere and pack now. You're going to be pretty tired tonight after this party and it'll be pretty hectic in the morning. Although I doubt you'll listen to me. And who are you two?"

Hermione stepped forward. "I'm Hermione Granger and this is Ron Weasley. Are you really a study abroad student attending Hogwarts for the first time? Do you know loads of spells and languages and magical cursed places and ancient runes and artifacts? Could you teach me? Who taught you?"

Toshiro stared at her for a moment before turning to Harry with a frown. "And I thought you asked a lot of questions."

Harry and Ron laughed as Hermione flushed. "I'm sorry." She said. "I tend to get a bit carried away sometimes. But I would like to know about the things you learned on your travels. What's your name?"

Toshiro sighed. "My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya, but just call me Toshiro. It's pronounced Toe-sheer-row and no, you can't shorten it to anything else. That is my name, so stick with it. Now hurry up and get ready for dinner."

As Hermione and Ron turned to head out of the room, Crookshanks leaped out of Hermione's arms and onto Toshiro's bed, sauntering over to a blue Suna. Suna picked her head up from her paws and looked at Crookshanks with narrowed eyes. Seemingly finding him uninteresting, Suna gave a small yawn and placed her head back on her paws. Crookshanks pawed her fur affectionately, causing Suna to pick her head back up and give him a low growl deep within her throat, her fur slowly turning from pink to red.

Toshiro turned to Hermione. "If I were you, I'd get your cat away from mine before she scratches the hell out of him. And if he impregnates her while we're at the school, I'll disembowel him."

Hermione eep'd and quickly plucked Crookshanks from the bed and scurried out of the room, Ron laughing uproariously as he followed her. Harry watched them go with a raised eyebrow before turning back to Toshiro. "I thought you said not to insult anyone."

Toshiro shrugged, watching as Suna turned back to the soft blue he had become used to. "I said 'try'. I tried. Couldn't do it."

Harry smirked and began clearing up some of his mess, placing all of his clothes into his trunk instead of on the floor, and began placing his textbooks on top of them. "I wonder which house you'll all be in. You might be separated into different houses but I don't think any of you will end up in Slytherin. I'd be surprised, though, if one of you were."

Toshiro shrugged and headed out the door, Harry following behind. "I don't see how it would matter much, but we won't know until the time comes. For now, don't worry about it."

Toshiro and Harry entered the room full of people, several of them red heads, not including Renji and Ichigo, both of whom were not present. Harry wandered over to the Weasleys as Toshiro approached Rangiku and Rukia at the other end of the table. "Did you really have to go this far?" he asked Rangiku.

She laughed. "Of course. You can't have a birthday without a party. Speaking of which, where is the birthday boy?"

"Ichigo went to go get him." Rukia said with a smirk.

At that moment, the door opened again to admit Renji and Ichigo. Renji took one look into the room, took in the decorations, and turned to Rangiku with a face almost as red as his hair. "Damn it, Rangiku!" he shouted. "I told you no party!"

Rangiku laughed. "Too bad, you're here. Now you have to endure it. Besides, it was either do it here and now, do it tomorrow on the train, or wait until Saturday and do it at the school. And you know I can create a party out of any situation. Now let's just enjoy a nice dinner and a wild party."

"Not too wild, Matsumoto." Toshiro grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose, the feelings of a migraine slowly threatening to make itself known.

"Don't worry, taicho." Rangiku said lightly. "It will be nice and civil."

* * *

Several minutes later, the party was in full swing. The shinigami seemed to get along well enough with the Weasleys. At the beginning of the party, the shinigami sat at one end of the table and the Weasleys at the other. Yet, by the end of the night, seating arrangements had been swapped so that Ginny and the Weasley twins found themselves with Renji and Ichigo, discussing different prank ideas for the school year; Rangiku found herself conversing with Mrs. Weasley about the successful party and Rangiku's hand made clothing the shinigami wore; Rukia found herself deep in a conversation with Percy about what they'll learn once they get to the school; and Toshiro found himself in a conversation with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Mr. Weasley, discussing the situation with the Dementors at the school and the surprising news that the ministry was sending company cars to pick up the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione and take them to the train station.

Harry turned to Toshiro and then back to Mr. Weasley. "But what about Toshiro and the others?"

"It's fine Harry." Toshiro said before a nervous looking Mr. Weasley could speak. "We already have transportation plans."

"The truck?" Harry asked curiously.

Toshiro nodded. "Ukitake is going to be picking us up tomorrow morning at exactly ten o'clock, like before. He'll drop us off at the train station. You should probably go with your friends."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked uncertainly. "I could go with you guys. We're a pretty big group and all. And I already know I'll fit with you guys in the truck."

"Uh, Harry. You should probably go with us." Mr. Weasley interjected hastily.

Harry looked back and forth between Toshiro and Mr. Weasley before looking back at Toshiro. "If you're sure."

"I am." Toshiro said with a final nod.

Finally, over an hour later, the party came to an end and everyone slowly began making their way up the stairs and to their rooms, Mrs. Weasley calling behind them to make sure to pack before bed, as there won't be enough time in the morning. Toshiro made his way upstairs and into his room, Harry behind him, and placed his trunk beside the door. He turned to Harry. "Once you're packed, put your trunk by the door like before. You want me to wake you or can you manage that on your own?"

"I can manage, thanks." Harry said with a scowl.

Toshiro smirked. "We'll see."

Harry scowled deeper and started to respond before pausing at the sounds of shouting in the room next to theirs, the room Ron and Percy shared. Toshiro rolled his eyes. "They're your friends. Shut them up." Harry rolled his own eyes and headed out of the room. Toshiro waited for him to leave before sighing and changing into his sleep clothes. Then he got into bed, shut off the light and lay silently in the dark, waiting for silence to fall upon the surrounding rooms and sleep to take him. Several minutes later, Harry crept back into the room and quietly made his way to his bed. Toshiro listened as Harry silently changed into his pajamas before sighing and getting into bed. Just before sleep swept over Toshiro, Harry spoke.

"I am not going to be murdered." He told the night firmly.

"That's the spirit, Deary." Said the sleepy voice that belonged to their bedroom mirror.

* * *

**A/N: Hooray, you've reached the end of the chapter! Told you it was a long one. A real monster of a chapter, ne? Just think of it as a bit of an apology for taking so long to post. I can't promise to get the others up quickly but I can promise to get them up. I won't abandon you guys in the middle of the story. That would be mean. I've just had so many things going on. Including several other story ideas for a bunch of other topics have popped into my head and I've been busy writing out a rough description of what I want to do with it before I forget it. You know what I mean? So after this story, I have over a dozen others on standby. Joy.**

**Now, I know that I first put this story as an Ichigo based story but I too have realized that I've been putting more of Toshiro in than Ichigo. So instead, I've changed it to a Toshiro based story, but I will definitely be putting more of Ichigo than the others, besides Toshiro. Hope that's okay with everyone, and if not, sorry but I've already made the change. And yes, I know that Luna isn't introduced until the fifth book but like I've said before, this is **_**my**_** story and I want her in here with Neville and Toshiro. I want to put a bit of a background piece of them hanging out together at the school like in the books. I think in the books it was mentioned that Neville hung out with her a bit before the fifth book. Hope you enjoy it anyways. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think.**


	13. Lupin, Dementors and Draco Malfoy

**A/N: It's finally here! Sorry for the delay but I must warn you that the updates will be like this for a while until school time is over. But as I keep saying, I will, in no way, give up on this story until the end. Also, I just want to point out to you all that, as I think I have said at some point in the story's author's notes, that I'm not very good with pairings and romance scenes. So the only pairings, if any, will be between the common ones, like Harry/Ginny or Harry/Cho, Hermione/Ron, Orihime/Ichigo (spoiler anyone?), and Rukia/Renji. The majority of these pairings, if there are any, will be pretty vague, like almost all teenage crushes are.**

**On a lighter note, as I'm sure many of you remember, Remus uses the boggart in one of his lessons and then again during his final exam. I was hoping you guys could throw some ideas out there for me on what each of the shinigami should have as their boggart. Any suggestions or ideas? I can't seem to think of anything that I could use that would keep them in character. Maybe any ideas that would give the rest of the class a hint as to their real jobs that would get our favorite trio curious about them. Please let me know through a review and if you think of any ideas later, don't hesitate to PM me. Thanks!**

**Now let's see what happens, shall we? Who will meet who on the train? How will the Soul Reapers react to the Dementors? And what about Lupin? Well, let's read and find out.**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter or any of the characters, magical creatures, or magical items. Nor do I own anything out of the Bleach era. If I do, I will let you know ahead of time if I remember.**

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**Chapter Thirteen: Lupin, Dementors, and Draco Malfoy**

The next morning, Toshiro was the first to awaken around eight o'clock and quickly showered, changed and packed up the last of his belongings before going next door to Rangiku and Rukia's room. After knocking three times, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Rangiku sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily, and yawned widely as she adjusted her over-large sleep shirt. "Morning, taicho." She mumbled sleepily.

"Get up and get ready." He said softly from his spot by the door. He nodded towards Rukia, who was still sleeping in her own bed. "We'll shower one at a time, so that we can keep order. I've already showered so once you've finished, wake up Rukia and have her get in if she plans on showering today. I'll go wake up Renji and Ichigo and have one of them use the shower to the other bathroom. Let's try not to wake any of the other inhabitants of this inn, got it?"

Rangiku yawned again. "Sure. When are we leaving?"

"Ukitake will be here at exactly ten fifteen, almost like before." Toshiro answered. "It is just about eight thirty right now. By the time everyone is finished showering and getting ready, it should be about nine fifteen. We need to move quickly because I have a feeling that the Weasleys and Harry and his Granger friend will be getting up and getting ready at least by nine. The train leaves the station for Hogwarts at exactly eleven o'clock. We can't afford to be late."

"Got it." Rangiku said as she got out of bed and began gathering everything she would need for her shower.

Toshiro nodded and left the room, heading towards the room that housed Ichigo and Renji. Without knocking, he opened the door and stepped inside. The room appeared to have had a small tornado pass through it, as there were clothes and textbooks and sheets of parchment scattered over the floor and along several pieces of furniture. Toshiro frowned and walked over to Ichigo's bed. Looking down at his sleeping form with disdain, Toshiro pulled his foot back and was about to kick the bed when Ichigo's voice floated up from his otherwise passive face.

"Don't even think about it." He mumbled into his pillow. He opened an eye and zeroed in on Toshiro's amused face. He sat up and frowned at him. "I've gotten used to staying on my guard while I sleep. My dad always insists on waking me up by beating the hell out of me."

"Good." Toshiro replied. "That habit will help keep you alive and keep people from slaughtering you in your sleep. Especially since we'll be staying in unfamiliar territory for several months to a whole year with a mass amount of people trained in magic. For now, however, we should worry about getting up and ready. Rangiku is using one of the showers and there's one more available on our side of the hallway. Either you or Renji get in and shower, if you plan on showering today, and then once you're finished, let the other person in. Try to be quick so that the Weasleys and everyone else can do what they need to. We all need to go to the same place after all."

"Right." Ichigo flipped off the blankets and lurched out of bed. He grabbed a towel and his toiletries and followed Toshiro out of the room. Toshiro headed back to his room as Ichigo made a beeline for the other bathroom. "What time are we leaving?"

"Ten fifteen sharp." Toshiro answered. "Be ready."

Toshiro entered his room to find Harry awake and moving, searching in his trunk until he found what he was looking for. Carefully he pulled out a large, leather bound book, obviously hand-made, and sat back on the bed with it in his lap. Toshiro walked to his bed and quickly neatened the bed sheets while Harry sifted through the book. Finally he spoke.

"A friend of mine gave me this." Harry said quietly. He pointed to one of the pictures. "These are all pictures of my parents when they were still alive. Some, like this one, were from their wedding and some were from their school days. They're the only things I have of my parents; if I didn't have this, I probably never would have known what they looked like." _Besides the Mirror of Eresed._ Harry thought bitterly.

"That's good." Toshiro replied. "At least you'll always know what they looked like. Even if you loose that book or something were to happen to it, you've already seen the pictures, so they'll always be in your memories."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But at the same time, now that I know what they look like, when I dream of them getting murdered, I can see their faces this time."

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at Harry. "What do you mean 'dream of them getting murdered'?"

Harry looked up at him and Toshiro saw the tell tale signs of one just out of a nightmare. "I have dreams occasionally. About Voldemort murdering my parents. I didn't know what it was at first. I would just dream about a flash of green light and then it turned into a flash of green light with the sound of an evil laugh. And now, I dream of a flash of green light, with an evil laugh, coming out of Voldemort's face on the back of Professor Quirrel's head, shooting the green light from a wand and killing my parents in their wedding clothes because that's how I've seen them in these pictures. But I've never told anyone about these dreams. I don't know why I'm telling you. Maybe because I know you won't tell anyone."

Toshiro nodded. "I wouldn't. There's no need because, 1) it's not my story to share and 2) it's none of anyone else's business."

Harry smiled. "Thanks." Then he stood up and placed the book back in his trunk before pulling out his clothes for the day and his toiletries. "Is anyone in either of these bathrooms?"

Toshiro nodded. "Rangiku should be finishing up in one of them and Ichigo just got in the other. You might have to wait unless you would like to either use one of the bathrooms further down the hall or you can wait and rush into an available bathroom as soon as one makes itself know."

Harry shrugged. "I'll just use one of the bathrooms down the hall. Everyone else should still be asleep, so the bathrooms should still be open."

Toshiro nodded again. "Then by all means. I don't know when you guys will be leaving, but we'll be gone by ten fifteen."

"Right." Harry said as he headed out of the room. "Knowing Mrs. Weasley, everyone else won't be asleep for much longer."

* * *

As Harry had predicted, by the time Rukia had gotten into the shower and Renji was finishing up his, Mrs. Weasley had wakened every single one of her children and Hermione. Toshiro was both amused and annoyed by the chaos that erupted. Ron had taken more than one trip by Mrs. Weasley to get fully out of bed. The Weasley twins both bumped into Rangiku as she tried to make the short distance from her room to Toshiro's and both twins flushed as red as Suna's fur when she was angry as they were nearly suffocated by her massive breasts. Rangiku laughed uproariously as the twins made a mad dash for their room, red-faced and avoiding all eye contact on the way.

"What did you do?" Toshiro asked exasperatedly as Rangiku entered his room, still laughing.

"I didn't do a single thing." Rangiku smirked. "It's not my fault those innocent little children have never felt a girl before."

"Matsumoto." Toshiro muttered in warning.

"Oh, alright." Rangiku said with a wave of her hand. She put her hands on her hips and surveyed his clothing. "Not bad. I did a good job, don't you think?"

Toshiro shrugged as he finished buttoning up his white shirt and pulled on the black sweater vest with a dragon outlined in an ice blue threading. "Not bad. But where did you get all of the material to make everyone's clothes?"

"Oh, I asked Mrs. Weasley, she makes sweaters for her kids you know, and she and I went to a shop that sold everything we needed." She said. "So I bought a bunch of different cloths and material and thread and stuff like that yesterday, while we were out getting stuff for Renji's party."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "You bought unpoppable bubbles and whistling candles in Diagon Alley?"

"Well, the bubbles Mrs. Weasley made with her wand but the candles we got from a joke shop her sons always go to." Rangiku shrugged. "They have a lot of really neat stuff and I made sure to get a bunch of different things for everyone's birthdays while we're at the school."

Toshiro glared at her. "Don't even think about it." He said menacingly.

"Don't worry, it will be nice and mellow." She said as she left the room. ˚

For some reason, Toshiro was unable to find comfort in her words.

* * *

By ten o five, all of the Soul Reapers, the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were packed and ready to go, their trunks lying on the ground under their seats as they finished the last of their breakfasts. Harry was excited to be going back to Hogwarts with Toshiro and the other study abroad students. Hermione had had tons of questions for them the day before, excited about having foreign students at the school and dying to learn as much about them as possible. Harry had noticed that Toshiro had seemed rather distant as she had asked him question after question. Harry could understand anyone becoming flustered after having Hermione on their backs but for some reason, Harry felt that Toshiro himself didn't seem to know the answers to a lot of her questions and some of them were rather simple, he thought. Perhaps he had just imagined it? Or maybe he was just looking too hard into this. That had to be it.

Finally, Toshiro cleared his throat and rose from his seat. Immediately, to the amusement of everyone else at the table who didn't know the shinigami, the other Japanese students followed suit and quickly gathered their trunks, following Toshiro to the door of the Leaky Cauldron. Mrs. Weasley glanced at the clock on the wall and quickly ushered everyone else up, claiming that they had to leave _**now**_. Toshiro opened the door and everyone walked outside in time to see a large, shiny black truck jump onto the curb and pull dangerously close to Toshiro, narrowly avoiding running him over, though Toshiro didn't seem to notice one way or another. As soon as the truck pulled to a stop, the shinigami began tossing their trunks into the truck bed as two cars pulled up behind it.

Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys climbed into the cars as the drivers packed their trunks in the back of the cars. The shinigami climbed into the truck and started driving away, magically popping up at the front of traffic, the two ministry cars close behind. Half an hour later, both cars and the truck pulled up to King's Cross Station, where the shinigami went to get trolleys while Ukitake unloaded the trunks and the ministry drivers retrieved trolleys while Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys unloaded their trunks.

Once everyone was settled, the ministry cars pulled away and Ukitake followed the shinigami and the others into the station and passed the other platforms until they stopped in front of the solid brick wall between platforms nine and ten. Mrs. Weasley quickly explained to the shinigami how the platform worked and then began ushering everyone through the barrier, Harry and Mr. Weasley going through first and Ukitake and Toshiro bringing up the rear.

"My, this is quite fancy." Ukitake commented good-naturedly. Then he turned his attention away from the large scarlet colored steam engine being loaded with students and towards his 'students'. "Well, it looks like this will be the last time I see any of you until next summer, then. You guys have a great time, learn as much as you can, and keep in touch with everyone back home."

The shinigami nodded at the subtle hints of their mission and said their goodbyes before pulling their trunks up the steps and into the train. Toshiro stayed behind and glanced over to where Harry seemed to be having a serious conversation with Mr. Weasley. He watched their lips moving and glanced at Ukitake, who had also noticed the pair. "What do you think?" Toshiro asked.

"About the boy or what they're talking about?" Ukitake asked in a low voice.

"Both." Toshiro answered, pretending to survey the whole platform. "They seem to be talking about Sirius Black again."

"Have they been doing it often?" Ukitake asked, following the younger taicho's casual glances around the platform. "Talking about that evil wizard, I mean."

Toshiro shrugged. "As far as I know, everyone seems to want to keep him out of every conversation. They spoke about him once or twice but very subtly. But from what I've gathered from Harry talking in his sleep last night, he seems to believe that Black is after him as well. Though I believe he might have overheard that information from somewhere because he didn't seem to think that way until last night. Something must have happened or someone must have said something between the time he left the room to quiet his friends and come back to his room. And just before he fell asleep, he spoke to himself. I don't think he thought I was awake. He said 'I'm not going to be murdered'."

"Hmm, that is strange." Ukitake conceded thoughtfully. "And I've noticed that not many seem to be talking about that eviler wizard, what's his name, Voldemort."

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I've noticed over time that no one calls him by his name. Out of fear, I believe. Everyone seems to call him You-Know-Who, which, personally, I find rather annoying. I even heard a couple of wizards calling him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. All of these fearful nicknames are making things rather confusing when trying to keep up with who they're talking about. For a group of people who are so keen on believing that he's dead, they have a funny way of showing it."

"I quite agree." Ukitake said with a nod. Then the two of them looked up as a whistle blew from the train, followed by Mrs. Weasley saying goodbye to her kids and Hermione while calling for Harry and Mr. Weasley to hurry before the train leaves. Ukitake looked back to Toshiro. "I guess that's our cue. I better head back. Oh, and did you manage to buy an owl for message delivery?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, I bought one that was good for long distances and sent it to Isshin Kurosaki. I believe I was instructed to send updates to him and he, in turn, will get them _**home**_?" Toshiro asked, putting a bit of emphasis on the word.

Ukitake nodded. "Yes. With Urahara's new job in this mission, he won't be able to give us the updates. Isshin was the next best thing." He paused when the whistle blew again. Then he ushered Toshiro onto the train after Harry as it began to move. "Have a good trip and don't forget to have fun, _**son**_!" He called cheerfully.

Toshiro stood in the car's open doorway and smirked at the word. "I'll talk to you soon, _**father**_!" He called back while trying to keep a straight face. Once Ukitake's waving form had disappeared as the train rounded a bend, Toshiro closed the door and dragged his trunk down the isle until he came to the last compartment at the back of the train. It was already full to the seams with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the shinigami, all of whom were trying to find a place to sit within the small space. Toshiro noticed a shabby-looking man sitting in the corner of the compartment next to the window, fast asleep, and was a bit surprised that the ruckus hadn't woken him up yet.

With an exasperated sigh, Toshiro pulled out his wand, mumbled a spell and waved his wand in the air. The entire compartment outlined in a while-gold light before stretching itself until it was able to sit all of them quite comfortably. The others paused in their argument of seating arrangements and took in the change before turning to Toshiro in surprise. Then Hermione gasped and clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Oh, of course." She breathed. "We can use magic to make the compartment bigger like the school does to fit so many beds into one room. Why on earth didn't I think of it sooner?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes, placed his wand back into his pocket and dragged his trunk towards the seat beside the window, directly across from the shabby looking man. He hoisted his trunk up into the empty space above his seat and sat down, pulling Suna out of his pocket and placing her in his lap, where she curled up into a soft-blue ball and slept. Taking this as a hint, the other four shinigami began placing their trunks on the shelves and took their seats; after a moment, Harry, Ron and Hermione followed suit.

"Who do you think _he_ is?" Ron asked in a low voice as Harry slid the compartment door closed. He nodded his head to the young sickly looking man in shabby robes, still sleeping soundly.

"Professor R. J. Lupin." Said Toshiro and Hermione at the same time.

Ron looked from one to the other, puzzled. Hermione looked at Toshiro, who ignored them all as he gazed out of the window. "How do you know that?" Ron asked them.

It was Hermione who spoke. "It says so on his case." She pointed above the man's head, where a small, string-tied tattered case rested in the luggage rack, baring the name _Professor R. J. Lupin_ in one of its corners.

"What do you think he's teaching?" Ron asked, eyeing the man apprehensively.

"Well, there's only one position open, isn't there?" Hermione asked. "He must be here for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."

"So they found another one." Harry surmised. "Hope he's better than the last two."

"Last two?" Ichigo repeated questioningly.

"Didn't you say something like that earlier?" Rangiku asked. "Something about a professor who tried to kill you or something like that? What was his name? Quail, Squirrel, Swirl, something like that."

Ron smirked and Hermione giggled softly at the butchering of the name. "It's Quirrel." Harry said with a small smile, not at all bothered with the mess up of the name of the teacher who had tried to kill him in his first year. "He was our first Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Then we had an idiot named Professor Lockhart, who turned out to be a real fraud and tried to erase mine and Ron's memories because we found out he was a fake. There's a rumor going around that the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is cursed because we can't keep a teacher for more than a year. Hopefully this teacher will stay longer."

"And know what he's doing." Ron added. He eyed the man wearily again. "But do you think he's up to it? He looks like one good hex will finish him off."

"Do you think you put too much emphasis on appearance?" Toshiro asked, turning his head to scrutinize Ron. "Because you really shouldn't judge based on it. To me, you look like a scrawny, easily flustered, childish kid." Ron flushed. "However, I don't know you, so I have no right to judge based on appearance alone. Neither should you or anyone else. Especially since it is extremely immature and can lead to bad judgment and even worse actions, followed closely by severe consequences of the latter. I suggest you remember that for future references." And with that, Toshiro turned and continued gazing out the window as the hills rolled by.

Ron turned his stunned and still flushed gaze on his two friends, who were trying hard not to laugh at his scolding from someone nearly half his size. Hermione smiled. "He does have a point, you know; we shouldn't judge based on appearance." Ron frowned and opened his mouth to argue but Hermione quickly turned her attention back to Harry. "So what did you want to talk about? Or…" she looked in the direction of the foreign students.

Harry shrugged. "It's okay; they pretty much know what's going on anyway." Then he quickly explained to them all everything he had overheard last night between Ron's parents and then what Mr. Weasley had told him before he got on the train. "And that's pretty much it." Toshiro hadn't turned his gaze away from the window, but Harry was sure he was listening too.

"Oh, Harry." Hermione breathed. "That must have been awful for you to hear." Ron looked horrified. Harry was surprised to see that the Japanese kids hardly reacted at all. Hermione continued. "Sirius Black is after you. That's terrible. Oh, but Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are right, you mustn't go looking for trouble."

"I don't." Harry snapped. "I don't go looking for it; _it_ usually finds me."

"Who in their right mind would go looking for someone who wants to kill them?" Ron asked incredulously, looking fearful.

"I would." Ichigo and Renji answered in unison. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at them in shock. Ichigo answered their looks. "Best way to defend yourself against a killer would be to kill him first. In the world we live in today, it's kill or be killed. Sitting around pretending it won't happen won't do squat."

"But he can't." Hermione protested. "None of us are any match for someone like him. He was You-Know-Who's most faithful supporter."

"Who?" Rukia asked in confusion.

"She means Voldemort." Harry said. Hermione and Ron winced. "Most people don't like hearing the name. So we call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Well, that's stupid." Ichigo scoffed.

"Don't offend." Toshiro told the window in a tone that said he had been saying this several times before. "If this is their way of showing how much faith they have in their beliefs that he really is gone, then let them. If they haven't gotten over his demise by now, they probably never will. But we are in _their_ country and therefore must bide by _their_ rules, at least in some sense. While we're here, we should probably work on creating a habit of saying 'You-Know-Who' or whatever to everyone who isn't Harry, because obviously he has no qualms with the name."

"But it makes everything so confusing." Rangiku whined. "Why are these people being such babies over someone who supposedly died thirteen years ago?"

"Rangiku." Toshiro warned.

"Oh, alright." Rangiku mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. In a lower voice she mumbled. "I still think they're being ridiculous."

Ron and Hermione were looking at the Japanese students with something akin to wonder and disbelief. Hermione seemed to be nearly bursting with questions she was dying to ask. Harry sat silently, wondering how long it would take before she exploded. He didn't have to wait long before Hermione asked her first set of questions.

"Are you guys not afraid of You-Know-Who? Don't you know what he's done? Do you guys even know anything about him where you're from? I can't believe you're from Japan. How many other exchange students are there? Are more going to be coming after you? This year? Next year? How-"

"Will some one _**please**_ shut her up?" Toshiro hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose as the faint telling of a migraine appeared behind his eyes. Hermione flushed and snapped her mouth shut with an audible snap. Toshiro glared at her before turning his gaze to Harry. "She's just like you were. Question after question with no room for an answer." He turned his glaring gaze back to her. "How can you expect an answer if you don't let anyone else get a word in? Do you have any idea how annoying that is? Not to mention a complete waste of time. Questions are good for learning what we don't understand. But you can't learn from questions alone. Answers do help, you know."

"Sorry." Hermione mumbled in a small voice.

"So much for not offending." Ichigo smirked.

Toshiro turned his glare on him before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to be calm before answering Hermione's questions in descending order. "To answer your questions in order: No. Yes. Vaguely. We are. A lot. Probably not. Probably not. Probably not. And that last question wasn't completed enough for an accurate answer. You were the one who asked question after question without pause, so you figure out which answer goes to which question."

Harry noticed that despite the red tinge in Hermione's cheeks, the wheels were practically visible as they turned in her head before she made out what he had said. Once she did, Harry could just tell that several new questions had popped into her head. She took a deep breath before asking another question, refraining from asking more than one at a time.

"So you don't think there will be more of you coming to Hogwarts?" she asked.

"I doubt it." Toshiro said, glad that she was learning. "We're not really exchange students as much as study abroad students. We stay from country to country, learning as we go along. Since this school was in our path, we decided to come here. If it hadn't been, we would have skipped right over it and continued on."

"How exactly does this whole study abroad thing work where you're from?" Hermione asked. "I mean, how do you become part of it in the first place? You all look to be different ages and aren't exactly common looking third years, as Harry has told us you would be in."

"It's complicated." Toshiro said, starting into the cover story Yamamoto had created with Dumbledore and so the shinigami had to use as well. "The rough version is like this: there are several different groups, going from Group A to Group Z. Each group has a maximum of 5 people. We don't join based on age. We join based on when we first tap into our powers. That's not to say that an infant will join if it taps into its powers at that age. It has to be able to have some kind of control over them or at least the ability to control them. Otherwise, they would be considered special cases and either the parents train them until they are ready to join a group or the parents give their child away and the child becomes 'adopted' so to speak, by someone who can train and protect them until they can join a group.

Right now, there are several groups who either have no one in them, or still have a vacancy or two. There is no limit in how long you're allowed to train. You train until you think you can successfully control your powers without any casualties or accidents. After about six years of training, if you think you are ready, there is a test that you can take. It's an extremely hard test that will drill you on everything you've ever learned and how well you can control yourself. If you pass, you 'graduate', so to speak, and receive a document and personal file claiming that you have the right to use your powers at your own leisure, as long as you continue to follow the laws.

However, if you fail, you receive a black mark on your permanent record and you must go back to training. You must make sure that you are absolutely positive you can control your powers before attempting to take the test again. You get three tries to take the test. If you fail all three times, they kick you out, or 'expel' you and you will not be allowed to use your powers. You will be punished if you do. You basically stick with your group for the entire six years until it is time to start attempting the test. There's usually two or three groups formed each year and they pretty much train by level, starting with the basics and working your way up. Currently, Groups G-Z are full, A has one vacancy left, B is us, C has so far been stuck with just three, and D-F are empty. All of the groups with Learners, as we are called, are scattered across the world. We are the first group to attend this or any school. If it works well enough, others might attend in later years."

"Wow." Hermione breathed, looking at them all with wide eyes. Ron looked shocked and extremely confused.

"Hang on." He said slowly, his brow furrowing as he tried to make sense of all the information that had just been crammed into his head. "So you guys are called Learners and you are all in groups of five or less people of different ages and you learn to control your powers until you reach your sixth year and then you try to take a test and if you fail three times, you get expelled but if you pass, you're allowed to use your powers at any time? And you can continue training for as long as you want?"

Toshiro nodded. "You can continue training as long as you need to, as long as you haven't failed the test for the third time. And if you pass, you can use your powers as long as you follow the laws set forth. Our rules are very strict."

"No kidding." Harry said, impressed. "I'm glad I waited to ask you guys this until Hermione and Ron were with me. There's no way I would have been able to explain all this to them without confusing them and myself."

Toshiro shrugged. "I told you it was complicated. But those are our ways. I believe we are the only ones that do this in our part of Japan. I don't think any other parts of Japan are like this."

"And Dumbledore knows all this?" Hermione asked. Toshiro nodded. "I see. But, so how do you determine what year you'll be in here at Hogwarts? Or did you just pick a year a random?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, the way our headmaster explained it to us after speaking with Dumbledore is that we have learned enough magic to be level with third years at Hogwarts. Like I said, we join based on the age we tapped into our powers. Basically we have been at it for about three years so far, each tapping in and joining at the same time but at different ages. For example: I tapped into my powers half way through age twelve, yet I'm advanced enough to be in the same group as everyone else, all of whom started a year sooner; I'll be fourteen later on during the year. Yes, I know I'm small for my age, but I can kick your ass with no problem, so don't even try me."

He nodded his head to Rangiku sitting on his right, followed by Ichigo and Renji, with Hermione at the end. "These three all tapped into their powers around 13. Ichigo and Renji are now 16 and Rangiku will be turning this month, I believe." He nodded to Rukia seated beside the still sleeping professor. "And Rukia tapped into her powers half way through age eleven; she's fourteen now, literally half a year older than me."

"That's right." Rangiku commented. "Rukia's birthday is in January, the first month of the year, and Toshiro's birthday is in December, the last month of the year. Isn't that ironic?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Anyways, our groups go based on skill, not age."

"I see." Hermione said thoughtfully. Before she could say any more, a loud whistling noise suddenly filled the compartment.

"What's that?" Ron asked as the shinigami suddenly tensed. The compartment went quiet except for the whistling. "It's coming from your trunk, Harry." He said. He stood up and opened Harry's trunk. A strange item that looked like a spinning top fell to the floor and began whistling louder as it began spinning on it's point in front of them.

"Is that a sneakoscope?" Hermione asked wondrously. She looked up to see the shinigami with their hands over their ears and deep frowns on their faces.

Harry noticed too. "Put it back." Harry called over the noise. He nodded to the shabby professor on the other side of Rukia. "It might wake him."

Ron picked up the sneakoscope and stuffed it back into Harry's trunk, burying it under Harry's clothes, and slamming the lid shut, muting the sound. "That's better. I think it might be broken. We should probably see if we can get it fixed in Hogsmeade. They sell stuff like that."

"Oh, really?" Rukia asked. "I hear it is one of the only all-wizarding settlements in Britain."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, it is. I've read all about the history of Hogsmeade. There isn't a single muggle there. And they get all sorts of visitors. Like vampires and goblins."

"And they have loads of cool shops." Ron piped up. "Like the sweet shop Honeydukes. They have the best candy ever."

Hermione and Ron began simultaneously explaining everything they knew about Hogsmeade. Ron explained about Honeydukes and Zonko's, the joke shop, while Hermione told about the different historical sites like the Shrieking Shack and the first shop ever built. Toshiro listened with half of his mind until something caught his attention. He turned his head and noticed that Harry hadn't jumped into the conversation at all. In fact, Harry seemed to become rather depressed by the subject.

"What's your problem?" Toshiro asked him.

"I can't go." Harry mumbled. Hermione and Ron paused and turned to him.

"What do you mean you can't go?" Ron demanded. "Why not?"

"My uncle didn't sign the form." Harry said quietly.

"But that's not fair!" Ron exclaimed in horror. "You have to go! Maybe McGonagall will let you."

Harry snorted. "Yeah right. She'd probably tell me that it would be safer if I stayed at the school."

"Well, it would be safer." Hermione amended. Harry and Ron glared at her. "Sorry. But honestly, Black murdered a whole street full of people; he's not going to be frightened off from attacking Harry at Hogsmeade just because it's crowded with people."

"Well, if you can't go, you can't go." Toshiro said. "I might not be going either. It's not the end of the world you know."

"Why aren't you going?" Harry asked in puzzlement.

Toshiro shrugged. "We've been to several different magical places all over the country. After a while, it's not as impressive as it once was. Why bother? I may go at one point or another but who knows?"

"Same here." Ichigo said. "I probably won't go every time." The others nodded except Rangiku.

"Well, I might stay behind for one time but I would really like to visit that joke shop you were talking about." She said. "I could use as many new prank ideas as possible for back home."

"Matsumoto, you will **not** use anything you find out here back at the… classroom." Toshiro told her with a tone that said he was dead serious. "I better not find anything built into my desk or in any of the flower pots."

"I wouldn't dream of it, taicho." Rangiku said cheerfully.

Toshiro growled. "And what did I say about calling me that?" he snapped.

"Taichow?" Hermione asked, looking between the two. "I thought you said your name was Toshiro."

Rangiku giggled and spoke before Toshiro could. "It is. 'Tie-cho' is Japanese for captain. It's a nickname we use for him because he acts so much like a leader. And he throws out orders like a captain, don't you think?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. Ron and Harry smirked. Toshiro rolled his eyes and glanced at the wicker basket in Hermione's lap as she began untying the string keeping it closed. Ron noticed as well and leaned away from the basket, clutching a hand around a lump in his breast pocket.

"Don't let that thing out!" Ron shouted. Crookshanks leaped from the open basket and jumped onto Ron's lap. Ron shoved him away roughly. "Get away!"

"Ron!"

Suna lifted her head and growled down at Crookshanks. Crookshanks turned its head to peer up at Suna before sauntering towards her. Suna hissed, her fur standing on end and her nails digging into Toshiro's knees. Toshiro pulled her front paws out of his pant legs and glared at Crookshanks, pulling Suna onto his shoulder. "Back off." He told Crookshanks.

Suna growled deep within her throat, her fur a deep shade of red, making her look like she had her fur soaked in blood. Hermione quickly swooped down and picked Crookshanks up and placed him into her lap. Professor Lupin fidgeted in his sleep, turning his head slightly before falling back asleep.

The compartment slipped into a calming silence as the train continued to roll through the hills, heading further north, the clouds and scenery becoming thicker and darker. Around one o'clock, the food cart appeared outside their compartment door, the little witch asking if they wanted anything. The shinigami stood up and surveyed the spread, surprised with the odd foods. Harry explained to them the different foods while he ordered a large stack of what he said were called Cauldron Cakes and several Chocolate Frogs.

Toshiro wrinkled his nose at the mass amounts of sweets and eventually settled for a couple of pumpkin pasties. The rest of the shinigami ordered at least three of everything, not wanting to miss anything.

"Shouldn't we wake him?" Ron asked.

"He looks like he could use a good meal or two." Renji muttered.

"Um, excuse me, Professor." Hermione said softly. "Professor?"

"That's all right, dear." The witch said as she handed a large handful of chocolate frogs to Rangiku, whose eyes were gleaming at the chocolate. "If he's hungry when he wakes up, tell him I will be with the driver up front."

"Is he even alive?" Ron asked as the witch left the compartment. "You don't think he's died in his sleep since he last moved?"

"No, he's alive." Ichigo said softly, eyeing the sleeping professor. The other shinigami nodded silently.

They lapsed into another comfortable silence, eating their snacks and watching the hills continue to roll by until it started to rain. As the train continued on through the afternoon, they heard footsteps outside and the next moment, the compartment's door slid open to reveal three people in the doorway. One was average height with pale skin and white blond hair. The other two were both bigger and thicker physically and mentally by the way they acted.

"Well, if it isn't Potty and the Weasel." The blond boy sneered. His eyes roamed to the rest of the group. "Who are you? New students? And foreigners, at that. What are you doing with people like them?" he asked, cocking his head to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"And you are?" Toshiro asked in a bored tone.

"Draco Malfoy." Draco said proudly. His eyes narrowed. "But who are you? And what's with the white hair? And your height. Are you a first year?"

"How rude." Rangiku snapped. "Just who do you think you are, you little snot?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at her, though he seemed to take in her facial features and large bosom. Then he turned his gaze to Rukia and then to Ichigo and Renji. "More Weasleys?" he smirked. He turned to Ron. "Just how big is your family, Weasel? Did that money your father won even last long with all of you? Or do you still live in a hovel?"

Ron and Harry jumped up, as did the majority of the shinigami except for Rukia and Toshiro. Professor Lupin gave a snort and shifted in his seat. Draco's eyes zeroed in on him and he took an automatic step back.

"Who's that?" he asked.

""He's our new teacher." Harry said as he kept a hand on Ron's arm. "You were saying?"

Draco took another step back before turning to his two bigger friends. "Come on." He muttered and the three of them left.

Everyone paused for a moment, making sure they weren't going to return before retaking their seats. Ron was breathing rather heavily. "I swear, if he says one more thing about my family, I'll make him sorry. I'm not going to take it this year."

"Who was that?" Ichigo growled, still eyeing the door.

"His name is Draco Malfoy." Harry said. "He's a snobby little jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else. Remember what I said about people who think purebloods are better than anyone else?" The shinigami nodded. "Well, he's one of the snobbiest purebloods. One of those self-righteous kinds."

"How pathetic." Rangiku scoffed as she turned her nose up.

The train continued to speed down the tracks, heading still further north, until night had finally fallen, turning the surrounding area outside into a cloudy darkness. Lanterns shimmered to life all around the train. Professor Lupin continued to sleep.

"Aren't we just about there yet?" Ron asked as he looked past Rukia and Professor Lupin to see out the window. Suddenly the train began to slow down. "Finally." He said as he began rising to his feet.

"Wait." Toshiro said urgently, getting to his feet as well, Suna still on his shoulder. He walked to the window and looked out. The outside of the train was pitch black with darkness and it was difficult to make anything out. "Something's not right."

"We can't be there yet." Hermione said as she checked her watch. "It's too early."

Harry stood up as well and peaked outside the compartment. Heads poked out of the other compartments as other students wondered why the train was stopping so soon. Suddenly the train stopped with a jolt that caused the trunks to fall from the racks to the floor. Then the lanterns went out and they were all plunged into a sudden darkness.

"What's happening?" Came Ron's voice from behind Harry.

"Ouch! Ron, you stepped on my foot!" Called Hermione.

"What the hell's going on?" Ichigo asked the darkness.

"Taicho, what do you see?" Rangiku whispered softly.

"The darkness is too thick." Toshiro's voice floated from the window. "It's unnatural. But I think I see something moving around outside."

"I don't feel right with just my wand, taicho." Renji said.

"Nor do I." said the other shinigami in unison.

Harry made his way back to his seat, mentally wondering what else they could need besides a wand. "Who would be coming onto the train this late? And at random like this?"

Suddenly the compartment door slid open and someone fell heavily and painfully on Harry's legs. "Ouch, sorry. Do you guys know what's going on?"

"Neville?" Came Toshiro's surprised voice.

"Huh? Toshiro? Is that you?" Toshiro pulled out his wand and muttered _Lumos_. The compartment lit up for a moment but Neville, who had been trying to make his way toward where he heard Toshiro's voice, had been blinded by the sudden light and fell into Toshiro, causing him to drop his wand and making the light go out. "Ouch, sorry." Came Neville's voice from the floor at Toshiro's feet.

Toshiro sighed audibly and reached down to pull Neville up and into his previous seat. "What are you doing over here?"

"I was looking for you. I remember you said you were going to Hogwarts and I wanted to see if I could find you. Then the lights went out and I know Harry and them are usually down this way so I came over here. I was trying to see if anyone knew what was going on."

"I'll go ask the driver." Hermione's voice said from the compartment door.

Harry heard her open the compartment door again and then there was a thud and two yelps of pain from two female voices.

"Who's there?"

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Is that you, Hermione?"

"Yes, come in. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Ron. What's going on?"

"I don't know. Sit down."

"Not here. I'm here." Harry whispered hurriedly.

"Ouch! Ginny!" Ron hissed.

"Quiet!" a rough voice hissed.

Toshiro turned his head at the new voice. Since it was unfamiliar and no one else had entered the compartment and the voice seemed to be coming from next to him, Toshiro figured it must be the new professor, who had finally risen from his slumber.

The compartment fell into an apprehensive silence. There was a crackling and the compartment was suddenly filled with light as what looked like a ball of fire illuminated from Lupin's hand. Toshiro looked down, finally found his dropped wand and straightened back up to stare at the professor. "No one move." He said and stood up, carefully making his way to the door. Before he could reach it, the door slid open and a cloaked and hooded figure stood towering in the doorway, illuminated by Lupin's hand held fire.

Harry looked down to see a slimy, grey, scabby looking hand protruding from the cloak. As if feeling eyes on it, the hand pulled back into the folds of its cloak and the figure took in a rattling breath, sounding like it had something metal rolling around in it's throat. A sudden cold washed over all of them.

The shinigami suddenly felt weak, cold, and exhausted. There was a heavy feeling of being drained of more than just energy and Toshiro remembered the reports he had studied all morning the day before they arrived in London. The reports had said that there were creatures called Dementors, which was something they were supposed to be protecting the school from, that were going to be roaming around the school on the ministry's orders in order to find Sirius Black. The reports claimed that these creatures could suck out a person's soul through their mouths, an attack that earned the name Dementor's Kiss. Since all the shinigami were basically souls in a costume, the Dementor's soul sucking ability seemed to be having a greater effect.

Toshiro slowly sank to the ground, suddenly feeling as though a heavy weight were pressing down on him, heavier than he had ever felt in his entire existence. He could see the others sliding off of their seats and knew they were feeling the same way. But Ichigo! He didn't seem to be effected the same way. Then Toshiro remembered that Ichigo wasn't a pure Soul Reaper. He was alive! Toshiro reached up and wrenched the ring off his finger.

Ichigo felt like his whole body had been plunged into a frozen lake, his body involuntarily shivering as he watched the creature. If he had to make a wild guess, he would have to bet that this creature was one of the Dementors they had been sent to protect the school from. After feeling the effects of these Dementors, his loath for these creatures escalated.

"_Ichigo!_"

Ichigo looked up and turned his head to Toshiro, whom he was surprised to see looked like he was being drained.

"_Ichigo!"_ Toshiro said again in Japanese. His voice sounded weak and slow. "_Souls! It eats souls! __**We**__ are souls!_"

"Shit!" Ichigo said weakly as he suddenly understood what was happening. He looked around at the others. The humans seemed to be feeling much the same as him but the other Soul Reapers were just as affected as Toshiro. The Dementor seemed to realize it too. It suddenly turned its head towards Rukia, who was the closest, and began lurching towards her. Ichigo could see that the closer it got to her, the weaker Rukia became until he could almost see through her, as if her Gigai was fading.

"No!" Ichigo shouted weakly as he pushed himself off his seat and flopped his body over Rukia's. The Dementor lurched towards him and suddenly an image flashed in Ichigo's mind. He could see a woman with light brown hair, running towards him with a look of horror. He could hear her calling out to him over and over. Next thing he knew, she was lying in the grass, rain pouring down on both of them, mixing with her blood as it seeped out of her lifeless body. Then Grand Fisher's face appeared, leering at him with the woman in its grasp, holding her out to him, taunting him. Behind Grand Fisher, barely visible at first but growing clearer and clearer every second was a figure that looked so much like him, except it wasn't. Not really. It's face was grey, it's eyes black and hollow, its teeth as white as the clothes it wore.

"_**You're dying, King."**_It said to him with a scornful grin. _**"It's only a matter of time before I finally get control. You're getting weaker. As soon as you are weak enough, I'll be able to take control and fight off this creature on my own."**_

'_No!'_ Ichigo thought fiercely.

"_**Just a bit more."**_

'_No!'_ Ichigo mentally shouted. _'I won't let you!' _His body felt weaker and weaker.

"_**Yes!"**_ His hollow self suddenly cried. _**"I'm free! I'm free!"**_

Ichigo suddenly felt a pain in the back of his head and a boiling behind his eyes and in his nose and mouth. He felt a slight prickling as something started oozing from his nostrils and out of his mouth, growing from the back of his head and slowly creeping several tendrils around one side of his head. _'No. I can't. Not here.'_ He pushed with all his might, forcing back the tendrils that would form his hollow mask, determined to keep his hollow self at bay. _'You won't win! You're not getting out!'_

Toshiro glanced up as something seemed to catch his attention. His sight zeroed in on Ichigo, slumped over Rukia. Something was wrong. He looked off somehow. His face was turned away but Toshiro could just make out something white slithering along half of the back of his head. Toshiro's eyes bleared with exhaustion and fatigue but something about the white on Ichigo's head seemed vaguely familiar. Ichigo's body shivered slightly as the white substance began diminishing. Was he imagining it? No, he didn't think so. But the white substance seemed so familiar. He knew he had seen it somewhere before. But where? His mind was too fuzzy to think properly. He was weakening. Dying.

Ichigo gave a small groan as he struggled to mentally push his hollow self back into the depths of his mind. He could just make out the slithering feelings of the tendrils, moving in the opposite direction, receding and crumbling. _**"You won't get rid of me that easily, King! I won't give in without a fight!"**_ Ichigo pushed harder, driving himself to the brink. A sudden flash erupted from somewhere above him and his strength slowly started coming back to him. _**"No! No! No! You can't do this to me!"**_ Ichigo gave an almighty shove and suddenly the remnants of his hollow mask shattered, the pieces dissolving into nothing.

Ichigo rolled off of Rukia and lay on his back, panting and sweating, feeling as though he had just jogged for miles. After a few moments, he opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them, and looked around. The room was still dark but the creature was nowhere to be found. After a few moments, he turned his head to the side to see Rukia lying face down, her arms held protectively over her head. Ichigo reached out and tapped her on the head with a knuckle. "You alright, midget?"

Rukia shifted and slowly lifted her head, her eyes showing that she was still weakened. She nodded wearily, too tired to do anything more for the moment, and lay her head back on the floor. The lights suddenly came on and Ichigo turned his head in the other direction, noting Renji and Rangiku slumped on the floor, shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the seats. Both looked just as bad as Rukia and didn't seem to be stirring. Then he turned his head and glanced up towards Toshiro. His stomach gave a sudden lurch as he took in the creepy look in his eyes. The ice captain was staring at him with tired yet hardened eyes, a weary and tense stiffness in his weakened body. He was looking at Ichigo with wide eyes filled with such suspicious intensity that Ichigo had to look away, a sudden panic creeping into his mind. Did he know? Did he realize that Ichigo almost turned hollow right before their eyes? In a room full of humans? And what if he did know? What would he do? Would he arrest Ichigo? Kill him? Send him to Soul Society?

"Are you alright?"

Ichigo looked up to see Lupin standing over him, a concerned expression etched across his tired face. Ichigo nodded weakly and accepted the hand Lupin offered, helping him into a sitting position. Well, at least _he_ didn't seem to have noticed anything different about Ichigo during that time. Ichigo helped Rukia into a sitting position and leaned her back against her seat. Then he crawled over to Renji and gently shook him until his eyes seemed to come back into focus. Ichigo could still feel Toshiro's icy gaze on him as the young captain lurched over to Rangiku and pushed her up into her seat beside Neville, who was trembling slightly, hunched in on himself, and looking as white as…the substance that had been on the back of Ichigo's head.

Toshiro gave the back of Ichigo's head a fierce glare, only faintly aware of the train lurching into motion again, or that Lupin was speaking to Harry, who had slumped off of his seat and onto the floor, where he lay twitching terribly. Toshiro eyed Ichigo as he softly asked Renji if he was alright. He seemed to be as drained as the rest of them but not as bad as he would have been had he been only a soul, as they were. Now that he could think clearly again, Toshiro felt that he knew just what that white substance had been. But it couldn't have been. Ichigo wasn't a hollow. Soul Society would have known. They never would have let him come along on this mission if they knew. But there was no mistaking that bone-made mask that had been forming. Except that it didn't. It had obviously started to but it stopped. Why? Could Ichigo have attempted, as some point, hollowfication? But how? That was illegal and just as dangerous. For him _and _those around him. He could easily lose control, as he must have during that episode, and allow his hollow self to be freed. It was much too risky. Much too dangerous.

A sudden snap brought him out of his thoughts and caused the majority of the room to jump, though the shinigami were much too weary to muster enough strength to do that. Everyone turned to see Lupin breaking a large piece of chocolate into smaller pieces and began handing them out to everyone. Toshiro's nose scrunched up disdainfully at the rather large piece of a toothache the professor handed him.

"Eat." Lupin told them all as he crumpled up the empty wrapper and stuffed it into his pocket. "It'll help."

"What was that?" Harry asked weakly.

"A Dementor." Lupin answered. "An Azkaban guard. Now, excuse me. I must speak to the driver." And he swept past them and out into the corridor.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he pulled himself back into his seat, whipping sweat off his face at the same time.

"Th-the Dementor – it came in and – and looked around – at least I think it did." Hermione shuddered. "I couldn't see its face or anything. But – but it stood there. In the doorway. And – and you – you just – "

"I thought you were dying or something!" Ron said fearfully. "You fell out of your seat – though you weren't the only one; they did too – " he nodded his head to the shinigami, who slowly seemed to be returning to normal. " – but you fell out of your seat and started twitching really bad, like you were having a seizure or something."

"And then Toshiro said something to Ichigo in Japanese, I'm assuming, and then Ichigo threw himself on Rukia, whom the Dementor seemed to be heading towards. She looked really pale." Hermione looked down at said girl in concern. "And then Professor Lupin stepped over you, Ichigo and Rukia and stood in front of the Dementor. He told it that none of us were hiding Black under our clocks and to leave. But it didn't go. So then he said something and a silvery light flashed out of his wand towards it and it left."

"It was terrible." Neville whispered softly, his eyes wide and shining as he clutched his knees tighter to his chest. He shuddered. "Did you feel how cold it got?"

"I felt like I'd never be happy again." Ron said mournfully.

Ginny, who was pressed against the wall beside the door, suddenly burst into hysterical sobs and Hermione sat beside her, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"But no one else fell off their seats?" Harry asked.

"None besides the Japanese students." Hermione answered.

Harry turned to see Rukia still on the floor, her energy seeming to take longer to return. "What happened to you guys?" he asked.

"We're more spiritually aware than most in all our groups." Ichigo answered quickly. He stood up and pulled Rukia to her feet and then sat her down beside Ron before sitting down beside her in Lupin's previous seat, a bit too close to Toshiro for his current liking. At least he wasn't looking at him suspiciously anymore. "Things like this are a bit harder on us than normal. I've heard that those things, Dementors you called them; we've heard that they can suck out a persons soul. Well, let's just say that ours are more sensitive. It's not that common but a bit more common in Japan than anywhere else in the world." Ichigo took a chance and looked down before looking at Toshiro, who still sat under the window. Toshiro stared at him for a moment before giving him a slight nod, showing that he approved of the cover story.

Harry nodded, glancing down at the floor. At least he wasn't the only one who had collapsed, but perhaps he was like the exchange students and the reason for it was because he was more spiritually aware than the others. That could be it but he seriously hoped not. He didn't need even more things wrong with him than there already were. For some reason, it seemed to be okay for the Japanese students to collapse like that since they all had done it. But for Harry, it didn't seem right. It seemed almost shameful.

Toshiro glanced around the room, glad that his team was pulling themselves together for the sake of the humans. Though he still wasn't entirely sure about Ichigo. He would have to watch him more closely for a while, for the safety of both him and the students. And speaking of humans, there was something off about that professor as well. He didn't give off the same sort of feeling as the others. There was something almost canine about him, especially his eyes. They just seemed a bit off. And the weary, haggard look about someone so young. It just wasn't right. Perhaps he should keep an eye on him too, just to be safe. After all, Harry himself had claimed that his two previous teachers of the Defense Against the Dark Arts had tried to kill or harm him in some way. Hopefully this teacher won't give a repeat of either one.

Suddenly, Lupin returned, glanced around the group and grinned. "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know. It's safe to eat and I assure you it will help."

Harry glanced down at the chocolate piece that was beginning to melt between his fingers and took a hesitant nibble. A sudden warmth spread throughout his body and he took a bigger bite. All around the compartment, people began eating their pieces as well, glad for the effects the chocolate produced. Toshiro seemed to be the only one who refused to eat more than half.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked him as he stuffed the rest of his own into his mouth. "Not your flavor or something?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I'm just not fond of sweets."

Ron's head snapped up and turned to Toshiro, eyes widened incredulously. "You don't like sweets? What's wrong with you?"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "That was rude."

"What kid doesn't like sweets?" Ron demanded defensively. "And especially chocolate."

"All sugar leads to are toothaches, sugar rushes, sugar highs, sugar crashes, headaches, and migraines, and no, those last two are not the same thing, trust me." Toshiro snapped, his energy replenished enough for his annoyed demeanor to return. "Not to mention something breaking, accidents, casualties, hospital bills, and mass amounts of paperwork. All of which could have been avoided if sugar wasn't handed out like vitamins."

Ron gaped at him with his mouth hanging open. Hermione looked thoughtful. "But if you eat sugary sweets responsibly…" she started.

Toshiro scoffed. "Have _**you**_ ever met a responsible child with a pocketful of candy? Even sugarless, children still stuff their faces like there's no tomorrow. It's _**irresponsible**_ and disgusting. Not to mention bad for your health. A little bit is fine but that's all you need. I'm not saying you can't buy large quantities all at once but consuming the entire thing all at once is ridiculous and utterly repulsive."

"Who says that?" Ron asked weakly, looking around the room. "Who talks like that? 'Utterly repulsive'? 'Bad for your health'? Come on! You're a kid too, you know."

"A prime example." Toshiro said. "Note that I did not shove the small piece of chocolate into my mouth like it was a life preserver. Unlike someone else I could mention." He looked pointedly at Ron, who flushed. Harry snickered, suddenly feeling a lot better. He almost forgot how easy it was to suddenly see the brighter end of a dark tunnel when he was around the Japanese students.

Ron turned to him with a glare but then looked up, startled, when Professor Lupin, still standing in the doorway, chuckled as well. Professor Lupin looked down at Toshiro. "That sort of logic could have helped greatly when I was at school. Large amounts of sugar consumptions followed by even larger stomach aches." His eyes suddenly clouded over and then he was suddenly back to his normal, weary self. "Anyways, I just checked with the driver and we should be there soon. And who cast the enlargement charm on the compartment?" Toshiro raised a hand briefly. "That was smart thinking. I don't think any of the other students ever thought of that."

"Um, if you're not going to finish that, can I have it?" Neville asked as he eyed the candy in Toshiro's limp hand. Toshiro rolled his eyes and handed him the remainder of his chocolate piece.

The remainder of the train ride passed in relative silence, with the only talking being from the Japanese students, who had taken off a silvery little ring and started speaking to each other in rapid Japanese. The others shrugged to each other, none of them understanding anything they were saying, and politely left them alone. Neville eventually left, claiming that he needed to return to his trunk in a different compartment but asked if Toshiro would like to ride in a carriage with him and a friend, to which Rangiku agreed for both of them.

Finally the train pulled to a stop and everyone rose to their feet, all of them leaving their trunks on board except for the Japanese students, who all shrank their trunks and placed them into their pockets. "We never leave our possessions unattended for any length of time." Toshiro answered their curious looks. _Especially our Zanpaktou._ He thought.

Once they exited the train, Toshiro and Rangiku clambered into a carriage with Neville and, Toshiro was amused to see, Luna Lovegood, who smiled pleasantly at them, though she looked a bit dazed as she did. Ichigo, Renji and Rukia shared a carriage with Lupin and the trio got a carriage with Ginny. Toshiro looked out of the window of the carriage and gazed curiously at the strange skeletal horses that seemed to be pulling the carriages.

"Who knew the people who were so suspicious of a dead guy would let horses like these be around students?" Rangiku commented to him.

Neville looked up in surprise. "You can see them?" He asked surprised. "The Thestrals, I mean?"

"Is that what they're called?" Toshiro asked, turning to Neville.

Neville nodded vigorously. "Yes. But only people who've seen death can see them. Luna and I can see them. I saw my granddad and Luna…"

"I've seen my mother die when I was young." She said simply.

Neville nodded and then paused before asking in a small voice. "H-have you?"

Toshiro and Rangiku nodded. "More than we've ever wanted." Rangiku said sadly.

Neville nodded back and quickly changed the subject, deciding that the Dementors were a better topic than the Thestrals. He was still talking about them when the carriages stopped. The first thing they heard when they stepped out of their carriages was Draco Malfoy's sneering voice from the next carriage down. "You _fainted_, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? Did you and those foreigners really faint?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes as Neville stepped down from the carriage beside him, looking sheepish. "Sorry." He mumbled. "I didn't mean for him to overhear."

Toshiro glanced at a flustered Harry and turned his attention to Malfoy as Ichigo called out from another carriage. "Judging by that spot on the front of your pants, I would think fainting would be much better than pissing myself, Drip-o… I mean Draco!"

Ichigo, Renji, Rangiku, Harry, Ron and Hermione roared with laughter as Draco hastily looked down at himself before looking back up with a growl. "What's the matter, Potter? Need foreigners to defend you now?"

"Is there a problem?" said a voice behind them. Everyone turned to see Lupin, who had just emerged from the carriage Ichigo, Renji and Rukia had stepped out of. Draco took in his shabby clothes, the patches, and string-tied case in Lupin's hand and smirked.

"Uh, no, _Professor_." He said scornfully. Then he turned and headed towards the castle with his two large friends behind him.

"That boy is going to be trouble, eh taicho?" Rangiku asked as the rest of their group, plus the golden trio and Neville, got back together and headed towards the stairs leading into the castle.

Toshiro nodded absently, the same thought running through his mind. Hopefully this boy would be the only one causing problems for them but somehow Toshiro doubted that. Especially if there were more self-righteous _purebloods_ running around.

'_**Great**_.'

* * *

**A/N: How was that? Interesting enough? Let me know. However, one thing I would like to say is that I DO NOT appreciate the few PMs and reviews I've received threatening or telling me what I should or shouldn't put in my story. I DO appreciate the suggestions and comments of how I should make the story better, but as this is **_**my**_** story, I will use your suggestions if I can find some way to fit it in with my ideas for this. But threats or rude demands will not be tolerated and will, therefore, be ignored so don't waste your time. Helpful comments always welcomed.**

**Like I said before, I know some things, like Luna and the Thestrals (spelling?), weren't introduced until after book four but I'm hoping that you've all read enough of the Potter series so that there aren't any spoilers. And if there are, then… SPOILER ALERT! There, happy? And there may be more to come. But at least I'm keeping the subject of Luna and the thestrals away from Harry, Ron and Hermione. I just thought Neville would like someone to tell his secret to. He's always left behind in the books, you know?**

**The next chapter should be up some time either next Friday or the Friday after. And I'll try to fit one more chapter in before Halloween, so wait for it. Thanks for reading!**


	14. Lessons Learned

**A/N: Hey everyone! It's a bit late but I figured you wouldn't mind the update all the same. And well, I read all of your reviews and even replied to a few. I was vaguely surprised with the explosion of comments about the pairings that I didn't even want to put in here in the first place. However I eventually decide to do this, remember that the decision is up to me. If I decide in no pairings at all, then that is what I'll do. If I decide to pair so-and-so with so-and-so, that is also up to me. If you don't agree, no one is forcing you to keep reading. And I greatly appreciate one of my readers/reviewers who encouraged me to keep writing at **_**my**_** style and not trying to please everyone. You know the saying: "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." So true. To start with, I am not putting anyone in Slytherin. Mostly because I can't stand them. And I don't think Draco Malfoy will survive with Renji or Ichigo in the same dorm as him. And I already have plans for Toshiro. Don't like, don't read.**

**On a lighter note, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions about the boggarts for the shinigami. Your suggestions were very helpful. They gave me several ideas which nearly overloaded my brain. But hopefully I managed to create a decent chapter. I'll let you guys be the judges. Happy reading!**

**Also, a reader has told me that their birthday is November 2****nd****. They have requested that I try to update at least two more chapters by then. Well, I'll do my best. Here's one and the other should be posted before October ends. Happy early birthday to ****Curious reader8044****.**

**Disclaimers: Again, I own nothing but the extras. Harry Potter storyline not mine. Bleach storyline that is real, not mine. Made up explanations and overactive imagination? All mine!**

**Over 200 Reviews! You guys rock!**

**Chapter Fourteen: Lessons Learned**

The shinigami followed the rest of the students up the stone steps and into the castle. A large open space greeted them beyond the large double doors. A door stood to one side with a rather chilling breeze flowing lightly through its cracks; a large spiral stone staircase stood in front of them to the same side as the cold doorway, swirling up and fanning out to other staircases, some of which seemed to be moving on their own; a large door stood directly in front of them on the other end of the room and another large pair of double doors stood on their other side, to which the students seemed to be slowly making their way towards.

Toshiro was just able to make out a couple of long tables and lit floating candlesticks above each one in rows before a voice overtook his attention. "Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!" Toshiro looked towards the foot of the staircase, where an aged woman with a stern facial expression and spectacles stood, wearing emerald green robes and her gray hair in a tight bun. She turned her no-nonsense gaze towards him. "You Japanese students need to come as well."

Toshiro nodded silently and led the way towards the staircase and the stern woman. He stole a glance at Harry and noticed the fearful look on his face, making him seem like a child who had just been caught doing something naughty and knew it. Toshiro frowned. Did they do something wrong already?

"There's no need to be nervous." The woman said, as though reading his mind as she led the way up the stairs. "I would just like to speak with you in my office." She led the way down several halls until she stopped at a door, which she held open for them, allowing them to enter ahead of her. Once they were inside, she shut the door with an audible click and took the seat behind the desk. She pulled her wand out and waved it in the air. Several chairs appeared, settling down around the two chairs already present in front of her desk. "Sit."

Everyone sat, with Harry and Hermione directly in front of the desk and the shinigami fanned out in a semicircle behind the two. Once they were seated, the woman gazed at the shinigami. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House. I'm assuming that by now you know about the houses?" The shinigami nodded swiftly. "I am also Deputy Headmistress at this school, which is why _I_ am speaking to you instead of the headmaster. He will speak with you another time. I will explain more for you five in a moment. Before that, I must say that Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you five and Potter had fallen ill on the train from the Dementors."

"So it's wrong to feel sick around those things?" Ichigo muttered under his breath. Fortunately, no one other than the shinigami heard him as another woman, dressed a bit differently than McGonagall, bustled into the room.

"Who is it? Who is sick?" She asked hastily. "Who's hurt?"

"I'm fine." Harry muttered, obviously embarrassed by all the attention. "I'm not sick."

"Oh, it's you, eh?" she said with a tone that obviously said that she should have known. "What have you done to yourself this time? Fell off the train? Misused a spell? Ate too many sweets in one sitting from that cart?"

"No, it was nothing like that." Harry cried desperately, going red in the face at the wild accusations of what he would be expected to do to hurt himself. Did he really seem that accidental?

"It was the Dementors, Poppy." McGonagall said. The woman scowled. "And Potter wasn't the only one taken ill at the time. I'm afraid that our new transfer students were greatly affected as well." She turned to the mentioned students. "This is Madam Pomfrey, the school's nurse. If you ever need her, you can find her in the school infirmary in the Hospital Wing."

Madam Pomfrey looked to the shinigami, who were all obviously still recovering, though Ichigo seemed to be doing a bit better than the others. "And who do we have here? New transfers, you say?" She bustled over and began checking Rukia's pulse, who was closest. "Yes, she's clammy. Her pulse is quite rapid. And she's pale."

"Nah, that's normal." Ichigo said from Rukia's left on the other side of Renji. "She's supposed to be as white as a sheet."

Rukia scowled as he and Renji snickered and yanked her hand away from the woman to quickly whack both boys on the head. "*_Baka_." She muttered as she sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest.

Madam Pomfrey stood momentarily shocked before shaking her head. "Well, you certainly seem to be on the mend."

"I already explained all this on the damn train!" Ichigo complained as he rubbed the tender spot on his head. "You people don't listen."

"I will advise you to refrain from using swear words at this school, Mr…?" McGonagall said.

"Kurosaki." Ichigo muttered with a scowl. "Ichigo Kurosaki. And I didn't swear."

"You just did." McGonagall snapped. "When you described the train."

"What, 'damn'?" Ichigo asked incredulously. "That's not a swear word."

"It may not be one where you're from, but I assure you that it is here." McGonagall said coolly. "And you will refrain from using it or any other similar word while you are at this school. Since the school year has just started and you have not yet been placed into a house, I will give you all one warning right now. Any further swear words will be punished with minus points for your house and detention. Am I clear?"

Ichigo scowled deeper and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. Sure. Whatever."

McGonagall gave him a stern look before asking. "Now, what were you saying about explaining all this on the train?"

Ichigo glared at her for a moment before answering her. "As I said on the train to that other teacher, we've never had to deal with these Dementor-freaks. Our _ministry_ wasn't that stupid. Our spiritual awareness is more _acute_ than normal people. So, excuse us if we suddenly feel ill around soul suckers."

"Exactly." Rangiku said with a nod. "Who the hell puts soul-eating, happiness-sucking demons around a school full of happy-go-lucky children?"

"Language!" snapped McGonagall.

"I mean really, what are these people thinking?" demanded Rangiku as she continued her rant, not hearing McGonagall. "This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You call this safety? Well, I think it's ridiculous. Whoever decided to create an alliance of any kind with these creatures must be a complete – "

"Matsumoto." Toshiro warned, casting a weary glance at her before refocusing on McGonagall. "I'm sure that subject will become clear later?"

McGonagall nodded. "It will." Then she turned to Madam Pomfrey. "What about Potter, Poppy? Does he need to go to the hospital wing?"

"What, no!" Harry exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He almost forgot the reason he was there, what with the odd rants Ichigo and Rangiku made and the even odder comment Toshiro said to McGonagall. Almost as if they were sharing an inside secret. But now that the subject was back to him again, his mind was reeling horrifyingly, imagining Malfoy's gleeful face when he heard that Harry had to go to the hospital wing because of the Dementors.

"Well, perhaps they all should have some chocolate, at least." Madam Pomfrey said.

"I already had some." Harry said. "Professor Lupin gave us all some on the train."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Madam Pomfrey said approvingly. "Finally, a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies. Very well. But the slightest sign of a weakened state and it's straight to the hospital wing for you. Ms. Granger, you and Mr. Weasley one keep an eye on him." Hermione, who had remained remarkably silent the entire time, smirked at the command to babysit the Boy Who Lived as he slumped back in his seat and buried his red face in his hands.

"Are you sure you're alright, Potter?" McGonagall asked.

Harry looked up and nodded. "_Yes_." He said desperately.

McGonagall nodded and turned to the rest of the room as Madam Pomfrey bustled out, ranting silently to herself about the wizarding world losing its mind by hiring dangerous creatures. "Very well. Then I want you and the other transfer students to wait outside for a moment. I need to speak with Ms. Granger. And you, Mr. …?"

"Hitsugaya." Toshiro said as he and the others stood up. He gave a small bow of respect, as was the Japanese custom. "Toshiro Hitsugaya. And if you don't mind my asking, what are we talking about?"

"Your classes." McGonagall said abruptly, a bit taken aback at the show of politeness in one so young, though she didn't show it.

Toshiro nodded and sat in the seat Harry had previously occupied as everyone else exited the room. Once the door was shut once again, McGonagall raised her wand and casted a quick silencing charm on the door before standing up and walking around her desk to stand in front of them.

"I know you two are taking several more classes than the rest of the students." McGonagall began. She reached into her robes and pulled out a letter and handed it to Toshiro. "This arrived for you moments before you arrived inside the castle. I haven't read it but the letter that came with it was addressed to me. Your main _Headmaster_ would like you to take another class called Arithmancy. I'm sure the details of this decision will be explained in the letter but for now, those were your instructions." She gave him a meaningful look at the mention of his _headmaster_, almost unnoticeable to all except Toshiro. And Hermione. She frowned but said nothing.

Toshiro nodded swiftly and stuck the unread letter into his pocket. "What exactly is Arithmancy? I'm afraid I didn't purchase any books for this class while in Diagon Alley."

"That's alright." McGonagall said. "I'm sure Ms. Granger, who is also taking Arithmancy, will be willing to share her copy until you can order one?" Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Good. I will give you a form you can use to mail-order your textbooks tomorrow morning. Now, your extra classes consist of Arithmancy, Divination, Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies, correct?"

"You're taking those classes, too?" Hermione asked in excitement. "That's wonderful. I think I'm the only one out of my house who's taking Arithmancy and I'm not sure about Ancient Runes and the rest of the class is taking Divination but at least I'll know someone in Arithmancy. You seem really smart, so maybe we can compare notes and – "

Toshiro held up a hand, silencing her mid-sentence. "Remember when I told you that if you're going to ask a question or inquire information in any way, that you need to give the questioned time to answer? This is one of those times."

Hermione's eyes widened and she quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I forgot. It's a habit."

"We'll work on it." Toshiro said, though Hermione couldn't tell if that was a threat or a promise.

McGonagall sat in silence, slightly amused with the way Toshiro handled Hermione's endless babbling. "May I continue?" Toshiro gave a slight nod for her to proceed. "Now, as I said, you two are taking much more classes than the rest of the students. Because of this, many of your classes, namely the ones I just listed, overlap with one another. However, the headmaster and I have agreed to allow you two a bit of leeway." She looked at Toshiro. "Your headmaster has agreed that you are responsible enough for this as well. We had to ask him since we do not know you enough."

Toshiro nodded in understanding at the extra precautions these people were taking towards them. McGonagall stood up and went to a locked cabinet. She opened it and pulled out an odd hourglass shaped instrument attached to a thin gold chain. She returned to her spot between them and the desk and held the device up for them to see. "This is called a Time-Turner. Professor Dumbledore had to have special permission from the ministry in order to let two students use this. However, he has assured them that you two are quite responsible and I hope he has not lied them." She eyed them individually before continuing. "Now, it works like this…"

**BREAK**

Once she had finished instructing Toshiro and Hermione on how to use the Time-Turner, the three of them stood and headed towards the door. "Now, remember." She said as they paused in front of it. "Drape the chain around both of your necks at the same time before turning it. Then you two can get to all of your classes with no problems. But be careful. I can't tell you how many times people have misused the Time-Turner and messed up a crucial part of the past and the ministry had to fix it. Change nothing. This is for your classes only. Understand?"

Toshiro and Hermione nodded mutely while Hermione slid the Time-Turner down the front of her robes. McGonagall undid the silencing spell and opened the door to find Harry running back and forth between Ichigo, Renji, Rangiku and Rukia, all of whom were laughing and throwing something small and shiny back and forth between them.

"Come on, you guys! I'm serious!" Harry whined as he chased the flying object towards Renji, only to about-face and head towards Rukia. "Give them back! I can't see!"

"You started it." Ichigo said as he held the object above Harry's head for a taunting moment before sending them sailing in the air towards Rangiku.

"I didn't mean to trip you!" Harry said as he tried to catch the object as it soared over his head.

Rangiku laughed as she caught the object, which Toshiro, who was closest to her, was able to make out as Harry's glasses. She laughed even harder when Harry tried to grab them out of her hand. "Jump for them." She taunted as she dangled them above his head. "Come on, jump! You can do it!"

Harry pouted. "No fair. You guys are a lot taller than me!" He tried to jump for his glasses again, only for Rangiku to hitch them higher.

Rangiku laughed as Harry made another wild grab and tripped, causing him to fall forward and land face first into Rangiku's massive bosom and causing them both to fall to the ground. She laughed even harder at the violent shade of magenta spreading over Harry's face as he hastily pulled away from her.

Harry quickly grabbed his glasses from her limp hand, feeling the heat spreading throughout his body as Renji and Ichigo hooted and howled with hysterical laughter, both of them slumped on the ground, clutching their sides. Even though he couldn't hear her, he knew Rukia was laughing at him too.

"Are you quite finished?" Toshiro snapped. Harry looked up and was relieved to see that Toshiro was scowling at them all instead of laughing. Hermione, however, looked like she was trying hard not to laugh. Professor McGonagall was just as impassive as always. "Need I remind you that this isn't a playground and you are not five years old?"

"You're closer to it than we are." Ichigo smirked as he regained his breath.

Toshiro glowered at him, the air in the hall turning chilly. Ichigo coughed nervously and looked away as he and Renji picked themselves off the floor and the group composed themselves.

Toshiro rolled his eyes and turned back to McGonagall. "Shall we?" he asked.

McGonagall raised an amused eyebrow and nodded before turning and leading them back down the corridor to the stone staircase. "By the way, what have you all done to your uniforms?" she asked as they went down.

"I did it." Rangiku said cheerfully. "Do you like them? I thought they gave them more of a personality, don't you? I do all of our clothes. I could do yours too, if you'd like. What do you like? Cats? Dogs? Birds? A lion, perhaps? I did one for Harry's, did you see? Show her, Harry."

Harry looked at her for a moment as they reached the Entrance Hall before looking up at his head of house and showing her his uniform under his robes. Several gold and scarlet mini-griffins lined Harry's tie in a striped pattern and the letters '_HP_' were etched over his right breast pocket in the shape of silver lightning bolts.

"Cool, huh?" Rangiku asked proudly. "I checked the rules myself at the bookstore and I asked everyone at the Leaky Cauldron. There is no rule that says I can't do things like this as long as they stay proper. They are. They just have a bit of a personality with them."

"Yet you can't do your _homework_ when you're supposed to." Toshiro muttered dryly. Rangiku winked at him cheekily.

McGonagall stopped them in front of the double doors leading to the Great Hall and gestured for Harry and Hermione to go in ahead of them. Then she turned to the shinigami. "Now, you five will need to be sorted into your houses. The other new students have already been sorted. Professor Dumbledore is going to make a quick announcement of your arrival and then I will lead you in." She pulled a small scroll out of her robes. "When I call your name, you will sit on the stool placed before the room and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. It will sort you into the house it deems appropriate for you. Understand?" They all nodded and she turned and listened for a moment before pushing the doors open and leading them past the curious stares to the front of the room.

"I will now start the sorting for the transfer students." McGonagall announced to the school. She unrolled the scroll and called her first name. "Abarai, Renji."

"At least she pronounced it right." Renji mumbled as he stepped forward and sat on the stool. A battered old cloth hat was placed on his head. There was silence for a moment before a voice suddenly spoke in his head.

"Ah, what have we here?" said the voice. Renji suddenly realized that the voice was coming from the hat. "You're not human, are you? Let's see. Ah, yes. You're a spirit. A soul in a human disguise."

Renji tensed up and tried to reach up and yank the hat off his head. Unfortunately, he might as well have had heavy weights attached to his wrists for all the movement his arms made. _You better not tell anyone about this, Hat._ Renji thought furiously. _That's classified information._

"Don't worry, I won't tell." The hat said. "I never tell anyone of my conversations with those I sort, not even the headmaster. Though I believe he already knows what you are, doesn't he?"

_Yeah, he does. __**He's**__ the one who called __**us**__._

"I see. Well, then. Let's get you sorted, shall we?" the hat said. "Now, you definitely have an urge to prove yourself, especially to your superior. You wish to be strong enough to beat him in a fair fight one day, right? Yes, thirst for strength and power are fine traits of Slytherin. You might not do so well in Ravenclaw, however. You're intelligent, yes, but you're more interested in brawn than brains, aren't you?"

_Did you just call me stupid?_ Renji demanded incredulously.

"Of course not. But would you be comfortable living with a bunch of brainiacs?" Renji hesitated. "Exactly. I know you almost as well as you know yourself at the moment. Now, let's see. You do have qualities of Hufflepuff. Honesty, loyalty, yes, you definitely have that. And you have a tremendous amount of bravery, perfect for Gryffindor. But where to put you?"

_Not Slytherin._ Renji thought automatically.

"Oh? Why not? You would do well."

_Those self-righteous pricks piss me off. You send me there and I'll tear you to pieces and feed you to those skeletal horses I saw pulling the carriages. Capiche?_

"Oh, alright. No Slytherin. But your immense bravery and great urge to protect your friends would probably serve better somewhere other than Hufflepuff. You'll go to GRYFFINDOR!"

Suddenly the hat was pulled off his head and Renji stood up, scowling at the hat. "Next time don't shout in my ear, stupid!" he told it.

Several students snorted or snickered as he stomped passed towards the Gryffindor table and sat down opposite Fred and George, who high-fived him. Then the hall fell silent again as McGonagall called Toshiro to the stool.

Toshiro sat on the stool, ignoring the muttered comments about his height and hair color as the hat was placed on his head. Then a voice filled his thoughts and Toshiro quickly pushed it out.

"My, you're a strong one. Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to do my job and sort you into the house you'll be living in for the rest of the year. Since, if you're like your friend, you won't be staying longer than that either, eh, Soul Reaper?"

_How much did you see?_ Toshiro demanded suspiciously.

"Not much before you pushed me out. And like I told your friend, I never repeat my conversations with others to anyone, not even the headmaster."

Toshiro hesitated for a moment before allowing the hat part way into his mind.

"Well, it's not much to work with. Let me in a little further. I need to be able to read you." Toshiro lightened up a little more. "That's a little better. Now, let's see. Hufflepuff is out, that much is obvious. You have a thirst to prove yourself. Except your thirst goes out to the whole world. You don't want to be thought of as a mere child. You're too tense, much too rigid. You need to loosen up. Slytherin would be great for you in your thirst but will, in no way, help you in the long run. Ravenclaw would normally be my first choice for you, since you are a genius. A real child prodigy, eh? But I have a feeling you would be better suited for GRYFFINDOR!"

Toshiro, regaining the use of his limbs, tore the hat off his head and placed it on the stool before heading to the table Renji was at and headed towards Hermione and a frantically-waving Neville. Once he had taken a seat, and Neville had pat him on the back for a fourth time, the great hall fell silent again as Rukia sat on the stool and waited for the hat to be placed on her head.

"Another one. Well, let's see. You definitely don't belong in Slytherin. Hufflepuff won't do. Gryffindor would be nice but your intelligence would be much better suited for RAVENCLAW!"

Rukia hopped off the stool and headed towards the table with the most clapping students, whom she figured were Ravenclaw. Several girls and a few boys greeted her enthusiastically before settling back down to watch as Ichigo picked up the hat and sat on the stool, scowling at it. McGonagall cleared her throat and Ichigo plopped it on his head.

"Well, well. What have we here?" said the hat. "You're not like the others. You have something else in you. Something dark. Something evil."

Ichigo tensed and resisted the urge to growl. _Mind your own damn business! I'm working on it!_

"Yes, I see that. You're trying to control this other creature inside you. But you're struggling. I can see it. If you don't work harder, it will consume you. I'm not sure if I should risk the lives of these students by putting you in any of these houses."

_You have to! I'm a part of this mission! I can do it, I know I can! I'm trying my best, damn it!_

"Well, you definitely won't belong in Hufflepuff. You'll scare away all the other first years I just sorted there. You're quite intelligent, not enough to be deemed a genius but you're not stupid either. But I don't think Ravenclaw will do for you. Slytherin would be nice."

_Don't you dare!_ Ichigo snapped. _Those kids seriously piss me off. If you're worried about me scaring the Hufflepuffs, then put me in Slytherin and see what happens. If there's anarchy, it'll be your fault. Do you really want that on your conscience?_

"Oh, yes. You are definitely intelligent. And quite amusing. Your evil side will excel greatly in Slytherin. But you're trying to control your other half, aren't you? I'm afraid the way Slytherins are right now won't help matters any."

_**Put me in Slytherin! I promise I won't eat the little kiddies! I will most definitely be on my best behavior.**_

_Like hell you will!_ Ichigo snapped to his hollow. _Get back! I've already told you to stay away! You're not coming out!_

_**I will eventually, King. You know it as well as I do…**_

"Hmm. Interesting. You'll work hard to suppress that?"

_Yes!_

"I believe you. Especially since you're afraid of what it'll do to your friends and loved ones if it gets out. It will turn you into a monster and causing harm to your loved ones is not something you would ever want to do, would it? No, you'll definitely do well without Slytherin. Gryffindor seems the best option. Besides, you're a natural born leader. And you're brave. You have a strong desire to protect everyone, whether you want to or not. I see you've been helping lost souls find peace for a while now. You would risk your life for others without a second thought. That's mighty admirable. You belong in GRYFFINDOR!"

Ichigo pulled the hat off of his head and gave it a quick nod before placing it on the stool and heading towards the Gryffindor table. As he passed the Slytherins, he spotted Malfoy, who glared at him, and stuck his tongue back at him before taking a seat beside Renji.

Rangiku walked up to the stool, smirking to herself as the student body broke into whispers over her physique. She picked up the hat and sat on the stool. "Ew!" she exclaimed as she examined it. "Talk about a fashion disaster." She frowned at it, ignoring the chuckles skittering around the room, and then tentatively put it on top of her head.

"Now, that was very rude." The hat told her. "I'll have you know that I was at the prime of my youth when I first started working here."

_When was that, 3000 BC? You need a major makeover. I can give you one when we're finished. Did you see the robes the others were wearing? I did those._

"No, I'm afraid I didn't. But I am a hat, after all. I don't have eyes. I just see what you see or have seen. I see through your minds."

_That's too bad._

"Yes. Now where should we put you? You certainly don't belong in Slytherin. You are quite intelligent, more so than you seem to let on. Why is that?"

_Because it makes it easier for people to underestimate me. That makes gathering information that much easier as well._

"I see. Well, you certainly are cunning. And intelligence like that would do well in Ravenclaw but you don't like to work, do you? So I think we can put you in a place other than Ravenclaw. You are brave, yes. But you also have a great amount of loyalty, especially to your little ice friend. Your captain. You care about him, don't you? Not romantically, but more as family, right?"

_Right. I've been with my captain for years. I think Sou-taicho placed us together on purpose. He's all scowl-y and serious and all paperwork. And I'm all about the parties and the sake and having fun. But that's not to say I can't back my captain when he needs me. Even if he doesn't admit it. We've grown attached to each other; grown used to having each other around. We understand each other. We know what the other can tolerate and what the other can bring to the table. We can tell if the other is amused or angry enough to tear your head off. We know when the other is about to snap. Taicho tells me a lot because he knows he can trust me. We're tight. We're like this._ She pictured a strand of string with a tight, complex knot in the center.

"Oh, yes. I see. But you don't want to go to Gryffindor, do you?"

_No. I would like to be with my taicho but we have a job to do. And that is protecting the students from those freaks they call guards. We can't protect them if we're all bunched up. So put me somewhere that doesn't already have one of us._

"Yes, definitely loyal. Very well, then you belong in HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Yahoo!" Rangiku cried as she pulled the hat of and handed it to McGonagall before ambling over to the Hufflepuff table. Within moments, she was surrounded by boys and girls, all of them speaking to her at once. The hall broke into noise as McGonagall took the stool and hat away but immediately fell silent as Dumbledore, a tall old man with long silver hair, a silver beard and a silver mustache, stood up and gazed warmly around the Hall.

"Welcome, students. New students, welcome to Hogwarts, your new home for the years to come. And old students, welcome back. Before we tuck in to the wondrous feast we traditionally have at the beginning of each year, I would like to announce that, for our new guests, the kitchens have prepared several dishes that would seem unfamiliar to you but I assure you that they are quite edible. These dishes were made to make our guests feel more at home. Our accustomed food will, of course, be provided as well. Now, before we begin, I have a very important announcement to make. As you all are aware by now, Hogwarts is currently playing host to the Dementors, the guards to the prison Azkaban. I know they are unpleasant but they are here on Ministry business. And while they are here, I would ask that you not leave the school grounds for any reason. They are stationed at every entrance to this school and they are not easily fooled by tricks or disguises or even Invisibility Cloaks."

Harry and Ron exchanged looks. Toshiro narrowed his eyes suspiciously. _Something else to look out for, apparently._ He looked up as Dumbledore continued. "Dementors neither understand nor care about pleadings or excuses and I ask that you not give them a reason to harm you. I ask that the prefects and the new Head Boy and Girl help in making sure no student runs afoul of the Dementors." He paused and waited a moment before speaking again. "On a lighter note, I am pleased to announce that we have three new teachers, though one will not be introduced until tomorrow morning, as he is still traveling to get here. I will explain momentarily. But first, I'd like to introduce Professor Lupin, who has kindly accepted the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts!" There was a scattered amount of applause, mostly from those who had been with Lupin while the Dementors were on the train. Ichigo and Renji frowned at the lukewarm greeting and stood up, both clapping and whistling loudly, followed closely by Rangiku and Rukia from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.

Once they had settled down, for the rest of the applauders had already stopped, Dumbledore spoke again. "And to our second teacher. I'm afraid to say that Professor Kettleburn has retired since the end of last year. But I am pleased to announce that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching position as well as his gamekeeping duties."

There was a roar of cheering and applause, mostly centered around the Gryffindor table and three students in particular. Harry could see Hagrid's reddening, beaming face and knew how much this meant to the large man. Once the cheering had finally quieted down, Dumbledore spoke once more before the feast. "Our last new professor, whom I will be introducing before breakfast, is a teacher straight from Japan, following our new transfer students. He is the sole professor to a separate group from our new students and has agreed to teach a class here at Hogwarts. This class is a one time only and will run throughout the duration of the year. He will be teaching a special class that will be offered to all years. This class will be run Friday and Saturday nights and is not mandatory. When you receive your schedules tomorrow morning, you will also receive parchment asking whether or not you would like to attend these classes. The offer will be valid for the first three weeks of term. You will have until then to decide. Just fill in yes or no on the parchment and give it back to your head of house and you will be enrolled. I'm sure it will be a great learning experience to see and learn magic the Japanese way. Now that those announcements have been made, tuck in!"

As soon as Dumbledore sat down, excited whispers broke out through the hall about the mysterious new teacher and the new class. Toshiro shot Hermione a warning glare and told her to wait until after they had all eaten before bombarding him with questions that were going to be answered in several hours anyway. Several platters appeared up and down each table, each filled with food of various types and styles. Harry glanced at the familiar bits of food he remembered helping make back on Privet Drive and was glad he had tasted these beforehand. He was sure his face would look just as apprehensive as the rest of his fellow housemates as they scrutinized the odd dishes. Neville appeared to be tinting green as he picked up one of the white _flowers_ and examined it.

"What is this?" Neville asked Toshiro as said boy ladled soup into his bowl.

Toshiro hesitated before answering. "I would suggest eating it first. You might not want to if I tell you what it is first."

Neville looked at him, wide eyed, before taking a tentative nibble at the edge of one of the _petals_. After a few seconds of chewing, he swallowed and shrugged. "It doesn't taste that bad. Kind of rubbery and a bit chewy. What is it?"

"Do you really want to know?" Toshiro asked dubiously.

"No." Ron said hastily. He and several others had been watching Neville taste-testing the flower. "If it's that bad, I don't think I want to know what it is he just ate."

Neville turned to Toshiro. "What is it?"

"Squid." Toshiro said.

Neville paled, turning to stare in horror at the innocent looking flower. Ron squeaked and flinched away from the flower still on Neville's fork. Several of the other students shrank away as well. Harry, however, picked up one of the flowers with a pair of chopsticks, clumsily, since he was still learning how to use them, and popped it into his mouth. Ron looked revolted and Hermione stared in fascination.

"How is it?" she asked eagerly as Harry chewed and swallowed.

"It's not so bad. I've eaten this during the summer, so I've gotten used to it." Harry shrugged. "I guess the best thing to do at first is pretend you don't know what you're eating." He turned to Neville. "You didn't think it was so bad until you knew what it was, right?"

Neville nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Yeah. That's why Toshiro told me to taste it first." He looked at Toshiro. "It's not raw, is it?" Toshiro shook his head. "Then I guess it's not so bad." Neville looked at the flower for a moment and then popped the rest into his mouth. "It almost tastes like something gummy. But with a different flavor other than candy."

Harry nodded. "That's what I thought too. At first I didn't want to eat it or anything else made with fish but once I started eating it without knowing it, I realized that they're right. Our minds automatically decide that we won't like something because of what it looks like, smells like, or made out of. So I ate a lot of food without knowing what it was and then when we were done eating, they would tell me all the stuff I ate."

"That's actually not a bad idea." Hermione said wondrously. She glanced down at a platter containing golden-brown square-ish slices of meat with three sticks sticking out of one end of each piece. Some of the squared slices of meat looked more like thick strips of bacon and others looked like small grilled ribs. She picked up one of the square slices of meat by its sticks and glanced up at Toshiro. "Don't tell me what it is, okay?" Toshiro nodded with a shrug and continued eating his own food. Hermione looked at the meat before taking a small bite out of a corner. After chewing thoughtfully and swallowing, she turned back to him and smiled. "That wasn't bad at all. So what was it I just ate?"

"*_Unagi-no-kabayaki."_ Toshiro answered curtly. Hermione looked puzzled.

"Eel." Harry answered. He smirked at the shocked look on her face. "Grilled eel, to be exact."

"_Eel_?" Ron exclaimed. He glanced at Hermione in horror. "And you _liked_ it?"

Hermione nodded and took another larger bite. "It's quite good. Almost like chicken."

Harry nodded again. "I thought that too."

"You're both mental." Ron whispered. He shook his head and glanced at a large bowl of soup with chunks of square-ish white blocks and an odd assortment of vegetables. "Is this safe?"

"Yes." Ichigo answered as he glanced at what Ron was pointing to. "Its just miso soup."

"W-what's miso soup?" Ron asked nervously as even Harry wrinkled his nose.

"I don't think _you_ will like it, Ron." Harry told him. "It's a type of soup made with a bunch of different ingredients. Each miso soup is different and it looks like that one is made with both _negi_, which is an onion, right?" Ichigo nodded as he sipped at his own soup bowl. "And also made with tofu."

"_Tofu?_" Ron asked in disgust. "Isn't that a bean?"

"Um, how did you describe it?" Harry asked Toshiro.

Toshiro sighed and set his chopsticks down beside his rice bowl. "Tofu, or bean curd, is made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the curds into little soft squares, like you see there. Tofu is made out of soy beans. Most people use it as a substitute for meat. It has no flavor or smell. People season it how they want it and treat it like the real thing of which they are substituting."

"Yeah." Ichigo jumped in. "Have you ever heard of tofu dogs? Or tofu burgers?" Ron shook his head slowly. "Well, what they do is get the tofu and mold it into the shape of a burger patty or hot dog, and then cook it like one. They season it and do a bunch of stuff to make it taste like the real thing but without real meat. I wouldn't really know; I've never made tofu dogs or burgers. But it's supposed to be healthier."

"No real meat?" Ron asked incredulously. "That's insane."

"You really shouldn't judge." Toshiro told him as he resumed eating his rice. "I told you that already. Besides, I've eaten foods with tofu and so have the majority of the Asian populations. We don't comment on any odd foods you eat. To you it's odd. To us it's as normal as water. Same for you if it was vice versa, I'm sure. It's called culture."

Ron looked at him oddly. "You are so weird."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded.

Ron huffed and grabbed a plate of 'normal' chicken, pointedly plopping three large chicken legs on his plate with a defiant look before reaching for other meaty foods. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked to Toshiro as he helped Neville work the chopsticks and then she glanced at Harry as he clumsily tried picking up grains of rice with his.

"I hate using chopsticks for rice." Harry complained as the rice grains slipped from between the sticks for the third time.

Toshiro reached across the table and grabbed Harry's hand. "Relax your grip. You're trying to pick them up, not squish them to mush between your chopsticks. It takes practice. Try going for the bigger clumps but don't squeeze too hard or you'll break the clump."

Harry tried again and successfully picked up a clump of rice, only to drop it before it reached his mouth. He scowled and slammed his chopsticks onto a napkin and picked up a fork. Toshiro sighed and shook his head as Harry shoved a large amount of rice into his mouth with a defiant look towards the chopsticks.

"Like this?" Neville asked, showing his chopsticks to Toshiro with another flower caught between the ends. Toshiro nodded.

"Sort of. But your fingers aren't supposed to be so close to the food." He made Neville drop the squid and repositioned his fingers. "Your fingers go back here, near the thicker end of the sticks. It doesn't have to be all the way to the back but further away from the food at least. And you only need four fingers, including your thumb. Pinky stays under your ring finger. Only use your two first fingers for the top stick and your ring finger for the bottom. And your top stick is the only one that moves up and down, using your thumb."

"I can't do it like that." Neville said, pointing towards Ichigo's hand with his chopsticks.

Toshiro smacked his hand. "Don't point with your chopsticks. It's rude. And you just started, so obviously you can't do it right away. You'll get used to it eventually if you keep practicing."

"I've been practicing for a while and I can pick up almost anything except rice." Harry said as he used his chopsticks for vegetables. "They're the hardest for me."

"Is it really rude to point with chopsticks?" Hermione asked. She picked up a pair of chopsticks and tried to position them in her hand the way Neville, Harry and the Japanese students were holding theirs.

"Yes." Renji said from beside Ichigo. "There are a bunch of things you shouldn't do as a sort of mannerism. _Such as passing food between chopsticks!_" he said as he glared at the twins, who had just used their chopsticks clumsily to jokingly pass a kipper from one set of chopsticks to the other. They paused mid-pass and dropped the kipper, which landed on the table with a plop.

"And letting food hit the table." Ichigo said. "And sticking your chopsticks straight up in your food dish."

Seamus glanced up as he let go of his chopsticks, leaving them pointing straight up in a bowl of rice next to his goblet of pumpkin juice. Toshiro frowned and quickly reached over, reaching past Neville and Dean, and yanked the chopsticks out of the rice and slammed them on the tabletop with a glare at the boy. "Don't. Do. That." he hissed at him.

"Why not?" Hermione asked from his other side as he sat back down. "Why can't you let food hit the table and leave your chopsticks sticking straight up and passing food between chopsticks?"

"Everything." Ichigo answered as if this were obvious. "First of all, it's disgusting and unsanitary to let food hit the table. Second, during funerals, they pass bones between each other with chopsticks. And thirdly, leaving your chopsticks sticking straight up in your food is a sign that you're giving it as an offering to your dead ancestors."

"But they can't eat." Ron said incredulously.

"Duh!" Renji snapped irritably. "But it's the thought that counts. Geez, don't you have any feelings towards the dead despite the fact that they're dead?"

"It's extremely insensitive." Toshiro muttered as he sipped at his tea contently.

"I wasn't trying to be insensitive." Ron muttered as his ears turned red.

"Then maybe you should learn to think before speaking." Ichigo muttered sarcastically.

"We've all seen someone die at some point or another." Toshiro sighed as Neville jumped and whirled around to find Rangiku leaning down behind him and Toshiro. She winked at him and glanced at Ron across the table. "Don't feel bad if we all seem a bit harsh when it comes to the dead. If you think about it, it's not a pleasant thing to think or talk about. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. There's a difference to being accepting to it and being insensitive. I'm sure you'd feel the same, right?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." The other offending boys nodded.

"What are you doing here, Rangiku?" Toshiro muttered.

Rangiku smiled and shoved herself between him and Neville, causing them both to push against those on the other side of them. She laughed and slung her arms over his and Neville's shoulders as Toshiro glowered at her. "I just came to see how my group was doing. Don't you like my company, taicho?"

"No." Toshiro grumbled. "I get enough of you at home."

"Aw, I feel so neglected, taicho." Rangiku whined. "Where's the love? I thought we were friends?" Toshiro snorted. Rangiku pouted and then wrapped both arms around Neville, squeezing him tightly to her, his body pinned between her breasts. "Fine. Neville will be my friend, right Neville?"

"Um." Neville flushed beet red, his arms pinned to his sides by her massive hug. "Uh, well, I – "

Rangiku squeezed him tighter, her hands snaking around to his side that was pressed against her body. "Riiight, Nee-villle?" she teased as her fingers prodded and kneaded his side.

Neville shrieked and tensed before dissolving into soft giggles, squirming in her arms. "S-stop!" he cried between giggles. "Okay! Okay! I'll be your friend! I'll be your friend!"

Rangiku laughed as she let him go and patted his back. "That's better. See, taicho. Neville will be my friend." Neville blushed harder as he regained his breath.

"Are you planning on tormenting the whole school?" Toshiro demanded.

"Of course not." Rangiku said affronted. "I wouldn't want to touch any to the Slytherins. And of course I wouldn't bother the professors. Speaking of which, where's ours?"

"So your professor is really coming here?" Hermione asked excitedly, glad to finally be able to talk about the subject without having to bring it up first.

"One of our professors." Toshiro answered. "Though we don't yet know which one."

"Who? It better not be that psycho killer Kenpachi." Ichigo grumbled.

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "I just told you I didn't know yet. And I doubt it would be him because of Yachiru."

"The little pink haired girl?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes." Toshiro answered.

"Wait, you mean that crazy looking guy with that little girl on his shoulder that I saw when you guys first got to Privet Drive? _**He's**_ a teacher?" Harry asked incredulously.

"One of them." Toshiro said with a nod. "He mostly studies battle tactics. But he's not coming; that much I know for a fact." There was no way Soul Society would risk Kenpachi loose on a school of children.

Harry visibly relaxed. "So what class is this?" he asked.

"You'll find out in a little while." Toshiro said with a smirk. "Your headmaster should announce that part to everyone either today or tomorrow before classes. Most likely when he introduces him."

"This is that thing you and Rangiku were talking about that other day, isn't it?" Harry asked with a frown. "Which you just said 'you'll see'."

"You'll see." Toshiro teased with a smirk.

**BREAK**

The rest of dinner past and soon dessert had passed as well, with the Hogwarts students being introduced to chocolate covered rice balls, regular Onigiri, Green tea ice cream, melon bread, and different flavors of *_Imagawayaki_, all of which Toshiro refused to touch except for a few small spoonfuls of the green tea ice cream.

"I still can't believe you don't like sweets." Neville said as he finished off his third melon bread and licked the left over cookie crumbs from his fingers. "This stuff is really good."

"It's not that I don't like sweets." Toshiro said as he set his spoon in his small ice cream dish. "I just don't like a _lot_ of sweets. It's just something I grew up not being fond of."

"If you say so." Neville picked up a spoon and pulled Toshiro's half eaten bowl of ice cream towards himself and finished it off.

"You should probably brush your teeth really well before bed." Toshiro advised, watching in disdain as Neville licked the spoon.

Neville chuckled and set the spoon down in the empty bowl. "You are so weird. But yeah, I usually do that anyways. Gran always made sure I did."

Before Toshiro could respond, Dumbledore rose from his seat and the hall silenced almost immediately. He looked warmly around the hall. "Well, now that we are all well fed and watered with a wonderfully unique and different style of food as well as our own, I'd like to take this time to go over a few school rules." Dumbledore proceeded to go over all the school rules, from the Forbidden Forest to magic using in the corridors to Quidditch tryouts. "Now that that is settled, it is time for bed. Also, would the transfer students please stay behind? Off to bed with the rest of you."

The students slowly rose to their feet, first years scrambling to the prefects to be guided to their dorms, and others making haste to their dorms and beds. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed up to the teachers' table and quickly congratulated Hagrid on gaining a teaching position before leaving the Great Hall and heading up to Gryffindor Tower. Neville left the Great Hall as well and waited by the foot of the marble staircase, sitting down on the steps once they were cleared.

"What are you doing here, Longbottom?" Neville looked up to see McGonagall staring at him from the doorway of the Great Hall. Neville stood up. "The headmaster told you it was time for bed."

"Uh, I was just waiting for T-toshiro and the others, Professor." Neville stuttered nervously. "So they don't get lost or anything."

McGonagall stared at him for a moment, causing him to shift uncomfortably under the scrutiny, before taking pity on the overly shy boy and nodding. "Very well. But stay here on the stairs. Understood?" Neville nodded hastily. McGonagall gave a curt nod and headed back into the Great Hall, closing the doors behind her with a bang.

**BREAK**

The shinigami stood in a line in front of the teachers' table, Toshiro in the center, flanked on either side by Rangiku and Renji, with Ichigo and Rukia on the ends. Several teachers stood in a line in front of them, Dumbledore in the center with McGonagall and Snape on either side, followed by Flitwick, Sprout, Lupin and Hagrid. They each sent a silencing charm or another on the double doors, with the exception of Hagrid, and turned back to the shinigami. Everyone seemed rather tense until Dumbledore bowed respectfully to the disguised Soul Reapers. "I believe Japanese customs include bowing respectfully to one's elders? And seeing as how you five are several hundred years older than myself and the rest of the staff, I believe a bow is in order?"

"It's not necessary." Toshiro said calmly, though none of them lowered their guard by much and he noted that the teachers hadn't either. "We don't expect traditional customs to carry beyond our own country and so will try not to be offended by too much."

"Except for the chopstick bit earlier." Ichigo commented. "But that was mostly because of what the actions symbolized."

Toshiro nodded. "Exactly. And actually, Ichigo isn't completely one of us. He's a special case, since he's in our line of work but is still alive. It's complicated, at best."

"Yes, well, before we get into that, I think we should take the time to fill in the details to the staff members I have chosen for this little meeting." Dumbledore said, sweeping his hands out to either side of him. He gestured to his right. "I believe you already know Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor. We also have Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff, and Professor Lupin, who also happens to be a mythical magical creature of some sort as well."

"Werewolf." Toshiro said with a nod. The other teachers, including Lupin, looked slightly taken aback at the news that the shinigami already knew what Lupin was. "I figured it out when I saw the signs on the train. It wasn't hard to figure it out just from his appearance, but mostly because we've had to deal with one after he died. Once I figured it out, I informed my colleagues, just in case no one else knew."

Dumbledore nodded, eyes flashing briefly. "I see. You certainly are perceptive. However, I would ask that you not reveal this to any of the students. Werewolves aren't very highly thought of, unfortunately." He gestured to his left. "Now, on my left we have Professor Snape, head of Slytherin; Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw; and Professor Hagrid, whom I'd just introduced before the feast. I noticed that the Sorting Hat has placed each of you into almost every house, though I must admit that I am a bit surprised that none of you were placed in Slytherin. I suppose the hat has its reasons. However, if ever there is a problem, I ask that you speak to one of these professors, and they, in turn, will report it back to me. Unless the situation calls for immediate action, in which case you should report to me directly."

Dumbledore gestured to the closest table before taking a seat, the other teachers following suit and the shinigami seating themselves on the other side, all of them keeping their positions. "Now, would you please explain who you are and your mission briefly for the benefit of the professors? Just so that we are all on the same page, more or less."

Toshiro nodded and gestured to himself and then to his right. "I am Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, captain of Tenth Company of the Thirteen Court Guards of Soul Society. On my right is my subordinate, Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto of Tenth Company; and beside her is Rukia Kuchiki of Thirteenth Company, and part of the royal Kuchiki Family." He indicated to his left. "On my left is Lieutenant Renji Abarai of Sixth Company; and beside him is Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper, better known as a Deputy Soul Reaper. And as I said, his situation is complicated and irrelevant to the current case. As for what we are, I believe it is first appropriate to make sure you are all aware of a few key components. First, is everyone here familiar with Soul Society?"

"I'm afraid not." Dumbledore amended. "Not much has been revealed except that you are not really students, nor are you even human, and that you were sent here at my request to an old friend, your _**Head**_ _**Captain**_, am I right?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, that would be Yamamoto-taicho. He also goes by Sou-taicho, Yamamoto-taicho, Head-Captain Yamamoto, Captain-General Yamamoto, or just Head Captain."

"And 'taicho' means?" Snape asked coolly.

"Captain." Toshiro answered.

"Yes, I believe your lieutenant called you that on the train earlier." Lupin said more pleasantly than Snape. "I wondered what it meant."

Toshiro glared at his sheepish lieutenant. "Yes, I know. Unfortunately, too many have heard her call me that already. So we've decided to use it as a sort of – " he grimaced. " – nickname."

Rangiku nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. Since taicho means captain, we've decided to use it as a nickname for him because he acts so much like a captain and a leader. It fits his outward personality."

Dumbledore smiled gently. "That it does. Now, these teachers already know what you aren't. Please enlighten them on what you are."

Toshiro picked up his narrating. "We live in a place called Soul Society, where the souls of the dead go. We, as Soul Reapers, head down to different parts of the world, unseen by most humans, and bring the wayward spirits back to Soul Society. Soul Society itself is difficult to explain and will take much too long. Just know that our jobs are to bring souls to Soul Society, protect them from evil on the way there, and keep them from turning into creatures called Hollows." Rukia pulled out a notebook and pen from inside her robes and began illustrating for the teachers as Toshiro continued.

"It may happen a bit differently here, but the basics are the same. When a person dies, their soul separates from their body, attached only by a thick chain. This chain is attached to the chest and once it has been severed, if it hasn't already, the soul will no longer be able to go back into the body. However, if the chain is severed and no Soul Reaper is around to take them to Soul Society, the chain will start to eat itself until all that is left is an empty hole in the center of that person's chest. Which is how they got the name Hollow. A hollow is a soul that has gone bad. Evil. Once a hollow is formed, our job is to kill it before it kills humans and eats their souls. The more souls they eat, the stronger they become. Souls that were bad before they became hollows go to hell. Those that were innocent but became hollows because of another hollow and killed, are still innocent. After the hollow has been eliminated, the soul is purified and sent to Soul Society."

Toshiro paused and allowed them a chance to comprehend this before continuing. "We, specifically, are types of Soul Reapers. As I told you, I am one of thirteen Captains in Soul Society. Each squad has its own specialty, ranging from ninja guards to medics to mechanics, and so on. And each squad has a captain. Each captain has its own lieutenant and lower subordinates. Rangiku is mine, belonging to Squad Ten. Renji is the lieutenant to the captain of Squad Six. And Rukia is neither a captain nor a lieutenant but a regular subordinate to the captain of Squad Thirteen. And I already told you about Ichigo. That is not to say that Rukia and Ichigo are weak; they are almost as strong as we are, but again those details are irrelevant.

Our mission was given to us by the head captain and main ruler of Soul Society. He is also Captain of Squad One. He presented us with letters informing us of the mission we were to undertake. That mission is to protect the school, and Harry Potter, from Dementors, Sirius Black, and Voldemort." Several of the teachers flinched or jumped at the name. Dumbledore sat calmly, appearing to not have noticed their reactions. Toshiro ignored them and continued. "We don't care too much about Black and the other one. Our main concern, as Soul Reapers, is the Dementors. These creatures resemble Hollows too much to be allowed to run loosely the way they have been. We're slightly weary of anything that eats souls, I'm sure you understand."

"Naturally." Dumbledore acknowledged.

"Black and the other one are human." Toshiro said. "Even though the other one was dumb enough to make himself close to nothing, he's still human and can be defended against as one. The Dementors are our main priority. Soul-less is worse than death."

"I agree." Dumbledore said, a hard edge to his voice.

"Then what the hell are you people doing with things like those freaks for 'protection'?" Ichigo demanded.

"What did I say about language?" snapped McGonagall.

"Sorry." Ichigo snapped irritably, obviously not meaning it one bit. "But seriously. You people are afraid of this big, bad Moldy-wart guy, who, might I add, had his ass handed to him more than once by a human kid, and yet you hire soul-sucking monsters for protection. Talk about ironic stupidity. So I repeat; what the hell are you people thinking?"

Dumbledore raise a hand as McGonagall and Snape both made to reprimand Ichigo for his language and attitude, signaling them to be quiet. "I quite agree and I am, in no way, happy with them that you are. Unfortunately, it is not my call to make. However, I am well within my rights to ask for outside help if I deem the situation calls for it. And it does. Hence your appearance at this school, though under disguise for all our sakes, I imagine. But this is why I have asked for your help."

"So this is mostly because of the Dementors?" Lupin asked.

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, but we will still be keeping an eye out for Black and the other one."

"Moldywart." Ichigo agreed with a nod.

"I thought it was Voldywart." Rangiku said in confusion.

"No, it's Voldymort." Rukia said.

"Let's just call him Bob." Renji said sarcastically.

"That works." Ichigo said.

Renji narrowed his eyes at him. "I was kidding."

"Be quiet!" snapped Toshiro. "I am not babysitting you like this all year. Shape up or go home."

"Yes, Mom." Ichigo muttered. Renji snorted and quickly tried to cover it up with a coughing fit.

Before Toshiro could respond, Rukia stood up and bashed their heads together. "Show some respect to the Captain!" she reprimanded.

"Oh, hush!" Ichigo said with a scowl as he rubbed his head. "Why don't you go back to your bunny drawings, Ms Chappy."

"Enough, dammit!" Toshiro yelled, slamming his fists on the table top. The temperature in the air plummeted several degrees as he stood and glared ice daggers at the others. "You're giving me a migraine and I hate migraines. I get enough of those from Rangiku alone and I don't need them from you lot. Don't think just because we're at a school that I won't reprimand you _**my way**_! Now sit down and shut up!" He pointed a finger at all four of them in turn, emphasizing his next words. "Not. Another. Single. Word."

Once they had all retaken their seats, Toshiro sat back down and pulled his power back in, letting the temperature return to normal. Then he sighed wearily, rubbing his temples, and looked back to the startled teachers and amused Dumbledore. "That pretty much sums up who we are, what we are, and why we're here. Anything else?"

Dumbledore shook his head, hiding his amusement. "No. You may go up to bed. I believe Mr. Longbottom is waiting for you three by the stairs." He gestured to Toshiro, Renji, and Ichigo. "And I believe Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick would be more than happy to escort you two to your houses and dorms." He glanced at Rangiku and Rukia. Flitwick and Sprout nodded kindly. "If any of you or these professors have any more questions, I ask that they be asked discreetly and answered only if need be. You may go."

The shinigami rose from their seats, Rukia and Rangiku following Flitwick and Sprout out of the Great Hall. McGonagall reached Toshiro, Renji and Ichigo as they headed towards the doors. "Longbottom has a habit of forgetting the password for the dorms. The password is 'Fortuna Major'. If you forget it, ask someone in your house, preferably a prefect. They change occasionally but you're usually warned ahead of time. Good night, gentlemen."

Toshiro nodded and led the way out, spotting Neville slumped against the bars of the banister to the stairs, fast asleep. Toshiro headed over and gently nudged the boy awake. Neville woke with a start and took a moment to realize where he was before he stood up. "Sorry. I guess I fell asleep." He stretched and yawned widely.

"You didn't have to wait for us." Toshiro said as he and the other two followed Neville up the stairs.

"I know. But I thought I'd lend you a hand. I didn't expect you guys to take so long, though." Neville tried and failed to stifle another yawn as he led them down corridors, up staircases and through a few trap doors before stopping at a painting of a fat woman in a pink dressy gown.

"Password?" she asked in what she probably thought was an elegant tone.

Neville paused and turned pink. "Um…"

"'Fortuna Major'" Toshiro said. The portrait swung open, revealing a large hole in the wall, to which Neville led them through, casting a sheepish look back at Toshiro.

"Sorry. I forgot the passwords change and I forgot to ask a prefect." He blushed harder. "And I'm actually not very good with remembering the passwords. I get locked out a few times because I forget."

"Don't worry about it." Toshiro said. He paused to take in the empty common room, not feeling too fond of the stuffy warmth coming from the fireplace. "It's kind of hot in here."

"Where's the rest of the crew? All of those other students that were at the table earlier?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, they all went to bed, I imagine." Neville said as he headed towards a spiral staircase. He pointed to it and the other one on the other side of the room. "There are two sides; these stairs lead to all of the boys' dorms and the other one leads to the girls'. Ours is up here. We should probably head up. It _is_ late and we do have classes in the morning, you know."

The four boys headed up the stairs and stopped at a landing part way up. Neville opened the door and led them inside, where eight four-poster beds seemed to be spread out across the room in a large line, a trunk sitting at the foot of all but three. Neville blinked. "Um, I'm not sure we're in the right room." He said softly.

There was a rustle of cloth and Harry stuck his head out through the drawn scarlet curtains of his four-poster, near the window. "You are." He said. "I think they redecorated the room to make it more spacious or something. They moved the furnace over there." He nodded to Neville's right, where, on the other side of the door, was a long, metal furnace, completely different from the previous one, a long metal grill standing a few inches in front of it. "And they spread out the beds."

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Weird." He glanced around the magically renovated dorm room until he spotted the three new beds at the end of the row, next to his own. "I guess those are yours. Since you have your trunks in your pocket, I can't tell which is whose. I guess you can just pick."

"I got the end." Ichigo said automatically.

Renji shrugged. "I guess I'll take the next one." He turned to Toshiro. "I guess that leaves the one next to that one yours, taicho." He said, indicating to the bed beside Neville's.

The four of them headed towards the beds, Harry retreating back behind his curtains, and the shinigami pulled out their trunks from their pockets. They returned them to their normal size and the four of them began getting ready for bed. Once they were settled and in bed, Neville rolled over onto his side and faced Toshiro's bed. "Hey, Toshiro. Don't forget that we get up around 8 ish on Saturdays for breakfast at 9. If you don't have an alarm, you want me to wake you?"

Toshiro shrugged. "Sure."

Neville nodded and yawned again, flopping back onto his pillow. "'Night, then."

"'Night." Toshiro muttered. _Curse this Gigai for requiring sleep._ was Toshiro's last thought before drifting off to sleep.

**A/N: Well, here you are. This was a bit slower but I added in a lot more detail to some things and a bit more humor, since it's the best medicine during dire situations, which there may be throughout the story. Hope you don't mind a bit of silliness from everyone. And I hope I did okay with the details of the Soul Reapers' explanations and stuff to the teachers. And hopefully I got Dumbledore right; I'm not very good with him. Also, I just want to warn you all that 1) I'm not going to be following the Harry Potter arc to a T, since it would be difficult squeezing the shinigami into everything and plus I need to put some of my own ideas into this, so I don't feel like I'm copying JKR too much. Twists and turns, people. 2) If you haven't already noticed, I keep bouncing from one person's point-of-view to another at random. That is completely intentional. I'm doing this based on the student's point of views. Plus let's just say it's because I want to. And I hope no one is bothered by the quick explanation to the teachers about what the shinigami really are. It makes it sound more real, you know?**

**I am currently studying all I can about Japan and Japanese customs, mainly because I plan on traveling there in a few years, once I get my schooling straightened out and over with. So a lot of the information I put throughout this chapter, and maybe others to come, are things I just learned. I've realized that by teaching what I learned to someone else, it makes the lesson stick better. So that's what I'm doing. I will also try remembering to type in any Japanese words I use so that you can learn them too. If I miss one, please let me know. well, that's all for now. Please review and let me know how I did. Chapter fifteen should be up before Halloween. Look for it. Thanks!**

_***Baka – idiot (roughly)**_

_***Unagi-no-kabayaki – grilled eel**_

_***Negi – type of onion (Whelsh onion, green onion, etcetera)**_

_***Imagawayaki – sort of like mini-cakes filled with different fillings. Japanese dessert usually found at festivals.**_

_***Taicho – obviously by now you know it means captain (roughly)**_


	15. And Term Begins

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I had a nasty stomach virus that just snuck up on me last Friday morning and kept me incapacitated until Halloween. By then I was so weak, I could barely walk straight, much less pick up my laptop and continue writing my chapter. But I was well enough to start writing the next day and I've been working double time to get this chapter up. This was a bit harder to write, since there were more details that needed to be addressed. And I decided to do the class schedules partly the books way and partly my way where I deemed them useful. Hopefully I did a good job. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews. You guys are amazing. I get new readers all the time too. And thanks goes out to my readers who haven't updated but have stuck with the story. Now let's see what chapter fifteen offers us, shall we?**

**Disclaimers: I own nothing but my chaotic overactive imagination. I take full credit for that. The rest is obviously not own by me and I fully admit that, so there is no reason to sue me. Don't bother. Plus if you make a big deal about this and I get forced to take this down for nothing, you might have A LOT of angry readers at your throat. Just a small warning.**

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**Chapter Fifteen: And Term Begins**

The next morning, Toshiro awoke to the sound of a groan from the bed beside him, followed by the sound of rustling cloth. Quickly, he strained to hear as Neville's sleepy voice floated over to him. "I hate the first day of classes. I'm always afraid that Potions would be first on the list."

Harry's voice floated towards him from the other end of the room. "Unfortunately there's not much we can do if it is. Snape will be unbearable though. He usually is on the first day back."

Toshiro rolled over and poked his head out of his bed curtains as Ron groaned, his voice muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Don't jinx it. The last thing we need is Snape first thing in the morning."

Neville nodded and picked up his tie, glancing up towards Toshiro when he noticed that he was awake. "Oh, hey. I was just about to wake you in a few minutes. It's just about time to be getting up for breakfast. We just learned to start getting up a bit earlier on the first day of school, since it takes us longer to actually wake up. You know, getting back into the swing of things." He shrugged.

Toshiro nodded and got out of bed, silently grabbing his new bag of bath supplies Rangiku had gotten for the shinigami while in Muggle London, a towel and his clothes and headed to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, Toshiro returned, fully clothed except for his socks, shoes and robes, to find the room partially empty except for Neville, Harry, Ron, and the two sleeping transfers.

"That was a fast shower." Neville commented as he finished putting his supplies into his school bag.

Toshiro shrugged, eyeing the two beds. "It doesn't take long to bathe. It's just water, soap, water, done. That's it."

Neville exchanged odd looks with Ron but Harry shrugged. "Technically it's true. But Rangiku told me once that if you bathe the traditional Japanese way, that it takes a lot longer. She said that you're supposed to clean your body first with soap, rinse off, and then get into the water."

"That's only if you're going to bathe in a tub." Toshiro said, still eying the beds. Toshiro frowned and finished placing his things into his trunk, draped his damp towel over the rail in front of the heater, and approached the space between the two occupied beds. "I know you two are awake. I can hear the difference in your breathing. Get up."

There was a rustle of bed clothes and Ichigo poked his scowling face through the curtains. "Why do they get up so early on the weekend? It's Saturday for crying out loud."

"It's eight o'clock." Toshiro told him.

"Exactly." Ichigo said with a frown as he got out of bed, Renji following suit. "It's too freaking early for a Saturday."

"I woke you guys up between 7 and 7:15 every morning." Toshiro snapped. "Be grateful you get an extra hour before breakfast on the weekends."

Ichigo continued to grumble as he gathered his clothes, bath supplies, and towel and headed into the bathroom, Renji right behind. Toshiro sighed and finished getting ready and gathering his things. Harry and Ron left several minutes before Renji returned, a bundle of clothes in his arms and his towel and bag of toiletries hanging from one hand. He tossed the towel onto the grate beside everyone else's and dumped his clothes in a pile on the floor beside his trunk. Ichigo returned, mimicking Renji by tossing the towel over the grate, before grabbing his socks and shoes and shoving them grumpily onto his feet.

Once everyone was finished getting ready, the four of them headed down to the common room and out the portrait hole, following the slow trickling of students staggering sleepily down to the Great Hall. Once there, they quickly took their seats at the Gryffindor table and waited for the dishes to fill themselves with food. As the last few stragglers entered the Great Hall and took their seats, Dumbledore rose to his feet and addressed the crowd.

"Now, before we dig in to our breakfast, I would like to announce the arrival of our new Japanese professor and his own personal students." The students turned as the double doors opened and in strolled a man with short, straw-colored hair cut just below the chin, wearing a green and white striped hat, a strange-looking green robe, and the most peculiar-looking wooden sandals. In one hand was a long black cane, and in the other was a wooden and white papered fan with a large red circle in the center when opened.

"Greetings, children." The man said pleasantly, waving the fan cheerily around the room. "I, am your new temporary professor, straight from the lovely country of Japan. You may call me Urahara. No 'Professor' necessary." He waved his fan behind him. "And these are my own personal students."

Toshiro peered past Urahara from his seat and groaned. Ichigo's friends, whatever their names were, were hovering behind Urahara, all three of them dressed similarly to Urahara, with the exception of the Quincy, whose robes were white with that ridiculous blue stripe pattern he was known to wear. Toshiro was not looking forward to spending this year with _them_ as well as the others. So far Ichigo was bad enough by himself but give him back his lackeys and there was sure to be chaos.

"Do you know them?" Neville whispered beside him, having heard Toshiro's groan.

"Unfortunately." Toshiro muttered. _What was Soul Society thinking, sending __**them**__ here? This is none of their business._ "They're part of the groups we were talking about on the train yesterday. They're more Ichigo's friends than anyone else's however."

Urahara cleared his throat. "Allow me to introduce my students. This is Yasutora Sado, but you can call him Chad or Sado, though he is mostly known as Chad." He patted the large, mocha skinned boy on the shoulder, who stood at least about 6'5", with his dark brown hair falling messily over his eyes, hiding them from view. Then he tapped the other tall, thin boy with short raven black hair and square glasses, wearing the white robe and standing at about 5'7". "This is Uryu Ishida, just known as Uryu." Then he waved his fan at the timid-looking girl behind, and nearly hidden by, Chad. She stood at around 5'2", with long straight, orange hair reaching mid-back and a bust almost, but not quite, as large as Rangiku's. "And this lovely young lady is our own Orihime Inoue. You can just call her Orihime. She specializes in healing magic, though she is still learning. I believe she will be spending much of her time in the hospital wing, if I'm not mistaken."

Professor Dumbledore picked up the narrating. "Professor Urahara has also been traveling abroad with his students and has decided to spend the year studying our western magic. In exchange, he has agreed to teach eastern magic to those who wish to learn. His students, as will the other exchange students, will be required to take this class; however, as I said last night, the option for the rest of the school is yours. You may sit in on their classes before making a decision if you'd like. They will be held Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30 to 7:00 pm, just before dinner, in the unused classroom on the fourth floor, next to the statue of Dorris the Dimwitted*. His students will also be sitting in on our lessons whenever they can, though they will not be learning the same way as our other transfers. They are not students, but more as assistants to him. They will be staying at the inn in Hogsmeade for the duration of their visit; however, they will be dining with us. Please make them feel as welcome as our other transfers." He turned and nodded to Urahara, who turned and spoke quietly to his students before heading up to the teacher's table. His students fanned out, Chad heading for the Gryffindor table to sit beside Ichigo, Uryu wandering to the Ravenclaw table to sit beside Rukia, and Orihime going to sit beside Rangiku, though she did cast a longing look towards the Gryffindor table, unnoticed by all.

Once the new arrivals had been seated, the food appeared before them, western food mingling with the eastern. Toshiro noticed that a lot of the westerners looked relieved to see that a Japanese breakfast can be similar to their own in some respects. Toast was served along with different styles of egg, including raw egg, as well as different types of cereal, both hot and cold, and green tea. However, there were also a few types of cooked sea food and vegetables, along with rice, which they figured was a natural food for all occasions. Toshiro sipped at his tea while Ichigo and Renji spoke to Chad, several of the closer Gryffindors listening in, including, Toshiro noticed, Neville, Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"I totally forgot you guys were coming." Ichigo muttered around a mouthful of rice. "Sorry about that. But it looks like you guys got here just fine with Old Man Hat-and-Clogs. So what are your dog duties consisting of, eh?"

Chad looked Ichigo's way before answering. "He told us to help out in class. We're going to train as well." He suddenly pulled off a small silver ring from his large middle finger and looked to Toshiro, speaking in short and quick Japanese sentences. "_He also told us to assist in any way we can. We're going to be doing security checks. Soon. At night. He needs to speak with the other teachers first._"

Toshiro sipped from his tea again before setting it down and pulling off his own ring with a nod. "_Good. I was planning on starting it myself. Glad we're on the same page. It'll help greatly._" He said, meeting Chad's short, quick bursts of Japanese.

"What are you saying?" Ron asked curiously.

Toshiro gave a meaningful nod to Chad and slipped his ring back onto his finger. "If we wanted you to know, we would have said it with our translators on. There is a thing called privacy, you know."

Harry nodded to his friend. "I learned that the hard way. After a while, I just learned to dismiss it when they spoke to each other in Japanese. They never told me when I asked anyways. And I know that if we could do it too, everyone would be speaking in languages everyone else can't understand."

"Oh!" Hermione said suddenly. "Like coded messages. And using metaphors instead of regular words to trick others from understanding."

"Exactly." Ichigo said with a nod.

At that moment, McGonagall swept down the table, handing out sheets of parchment as she went. She handed two sheets of parchment to each of them except the Japanese students. Toshiro glanced down at his own single parchment, noticing that it was a list of his classes and their day and times. He glanced up when Neville spoke beside him, showing him the second parchment.

"Hey, look. It says here in the description of the class that this is a two-parter." He said, pointing down at the small paragraph under the title of the class: **Eastern Magic**. "It says it runs Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30-7; just before dinner. According to this, part one, Fridays, will be mental and magical exercises and Saturdays will be magical and physical exercises. How does that work? And it says something here but I can't tell if I'm reading it right."

Toshiro glanced at the word and scowled. _**Kido**__? What the hell is he thinking?_ He cleared his throat before answering tightly. "It's pronounced 'Kee-doh'. Kido. It's … a form of magic we … Japanese use." He noticed Renji and Ichigo pause and glance apprehensively in his direction. "It's used with your spiritual strength instead of what you're used to. It's complicated but I'm sure Urahara will be able to explain it more if you decide to attend his class."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind going." Neville said with a shrug. Then he shrugged apologetically. "But I'm not sure I'll do very well in that class. I'm not very good with magic period. Except Herbology. And I'm a disaster in Potions."

"How would you know what you are and aren't good at unless you try?" Toshiro asked. He held up a hand as Neville made to speak. "And I mean try as in because you **want** to do well, not because you **have** to. If you keep doing it with someone constantly breathing down your neck or with a tremendous amount of pressure riding on you, you're not going to succeed. Tell me, how is your class conducted in Potions?"

"Horribly." Harry answered at once.

"It's terrible." Hermione said with a nod.

"It's a nightmare is what it is." Ron added.

"Professor Snape teaches it." Neville said miserably. "And if it's even a tad off from what it's supposed to look or smell like, then he thinks it's completely wrong."

"But it's just fine when the bloody Slytherins completely screw it up." Ron snapped angrily. "Once, Crabbe nearly melted his whole cauldron and Snape didn't do a thing. But when I made my potion blue instead of green, which was pretty darn closer to green than a few others, he docked five points and completely erased my potion. He didn't even let me test it."

"I remember that." Harry said with a nod. "One of the Slytherins had made his potion orange and Snape still gave him marks for it."

"He's totally unfair towards everyone except the other Slytherins." Hermione replied earnestly. "He's absolutely horrid."

"Yeah, he didn't really give off much of a good first impression last night." Ichigo muttered. He glanced down at his schedule. "And it looks like we've got him first thing tomorrow morning."

Neville paled and Ron groaned. "Great."

"At least it's not today." Hermione said as she quickly signed the enrollment form for the new class before going back to her schedule. Ran glanced over at hers and did a double take.

"Hermione, you're schedule's all messed up. Look, it says you've got Divination at ten _and _Muggle Studies _and _Ancient Runes." He narrowed his eyes quizzically. "Weird. But the rest is normal. You can't go to three different classes at once, can you? There isn't time."

"Don't worry about it." Hermione said dismissively. "I've already fixed it with McGonagall."

Neville peered at his own schedule while Ron and Hermione bickered and then down at Toshiro's schedule and his eyes widened. "Yours is like that too. You're taking Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes?"

"You are?" Ichigo asked. He peered down at his own schedule. "It's not on mine."

"Come to think of it, those weren't any of the classes we practiced for over the summer." Renji commented.

"My reasons for these classes are my own." Toshiro answered curtly. "Don't bother asking."

Just then, nearly a hundred owls swarmed into the Great Hall, each of them carrying everything from packages to letters to newspapers. Several owls swooped down and landed in front of Toshiro, knocking over plates and cups and a tea pot. Neville grabbed a tipping pitcher of pumpkin juice before it toppled over as Toshiro grabbed a large stack of letters from one of the owls, allowing it to eat some of the food that had fallen to the table top before taking flight. The other owls scooted closer, waiting their turns. Toshiro grabbed packages from the rest of the owls and then a single letter from the owl he himself had purchased in Diagon Alley before the rest of the owls flew away, leaving his own owl standing beside his miraculously upright tea cup.

"Who are all these from?" Neville asked in wide eyed fascination at all the odd packages and large stack of letters. Several heads were also turned towards Toshiro, including those from other houses.

Toshiro pulled off the dark brown string holding the letters together and sifted through them. "These are for you." He said, handing four letters to Ichigo. He picked out three more and handed them to Renji. "There are yours." He separated another small pile and held them up with a glance toward the Hufflepuff table. Rangiku headed over and took the letters from him. He repeated the action towards the Ravenclaw table and handed Rukia her mail, before placing his own beside his plate. Then he began sifting through the packages and handing them out to their respective owners.

"Why didn't whoever sent these just address them to whoever they belonged to?" Neville asked in confusion.

"It's easier this way." Toshiro answered as he handed a small box identical to four others, three of which he had already handed to Ichigo, Renji and Rukia, and a box of clinking glass to Rangiku. He held onto the clinking box with a glare to her. "This is from _Professor Shunsui_. It better not be what I think it is."

Rangiku winked and waved her hand. "Of course not, taicho. Would I be that irresponsible?" Toshiro's eyes narrowed further. "Don't answer that."

Toshiro shook his head but allowed her to take the package. He opened one of the remaining packages addressed to him, the one similar to the others, and scowled in distaste, handing the box over to Neville. "Here, you can have this."

Neville peered inside and looked up at Toshiro in shock. "Are you sure? There's a lot in here."

Toshiro's scowl deepened. "I know. Do with it what you will. I don't care."

"What is it?" Ron asked curiously.

Neville reached into the box and pulled out several small boxes with the words _Pocky©_ written on the front, each a different color. "'Chocolate covered biscuit sticks'. 'Almond covered biscuit sticks', 'Strawberry covered biscuit sticks'." Neville read curiously. He set them down on the table and pulled out several bags decorated with pictures of strawberries, green apples, purple grapes, oranges, mangos and bananas, with the words _Hi-Chew©_ on the front and back. He set these down beside the _Pocky©_ and continued to pull out boxes and bags of an assortment of sweets before a small pile sat before them. "Wow. This is a lot of candy."

"Um, can I…" Ron asked, eyeing several of the brightly colored packages. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Ask Neville." Toshiro said indifferently as he began opening another package. "They're his now."

Neville smirked and handed a pack of _Hi-Chew©_ to Ron with the instructions to share with Harry and Hermione before packing the rest into his school bag. "So what's in that one?" he asked Toshiro.

Toshiro pulled out several small cases of strangely shaped glass bottles, each case a different color with a lime green cap atop each bottle. "These are a kind of drink called Ramune. It can be pronounced rah-moo-nay, or rahm-n-ay, depending. It's a kind of soda." He pushed several cases to Neville. "You can have these."

"Why do they send you sweets if you don't like them? Don't you tell them?" Neville asked as he looked over one of the bottles.

"He knows." Toshiro said with a sigh. "He's our teacher." He glanced at Harry and grimaced. "And my father. He gives them to me anyways, knowing that I don't like sweets much."

"Your dad is your teacher?" Hermione asked excitedly. "That must be so strange being taught by your father but I suppose most magical families have to learn some way before Hogwarts."

"My mum taught us." Ron said. "She taught all of us up until our letters, including Bill and Charlie."

"If he knows you don't like a lot of sweets, why does he send them to you?" Neville asked as he unwrapped one of the glass bottles. The lime green cap fell off, revealing a small marble stuck in the bottle's opening. "And how do you open this?" he asked as he tried to push the marble with his finger.

"Don't." Toshiro said quickly, stopping Neville's hand. "That's carbonated. If you release that too quickly, it'll either pop or shoot that marble into your eye or something." Neville glanced at the bottle wearily and allowed Toshiro to take it. "This is how it works. Pay close attention." He picked up the lime green cap and pushed out the center piece, placing it in the bottle's opening and on top of the marble. He placed his palm over the flat end of the cap. "This piece is used to push down the marble. You need to put both power and speed into it. Just shove down hard and fast, before the built up carbonation can do any damage." He demonstrated by shoving down on the cap, causing the marble to fall into the bottle with a pop. He handed the bottle back to Neville. "That's it."

Neville looked at the marble rolling around inside. "How do you get the marble out?"

"You don't. Just leave it there." Toshiro said with a shrug.

Neville eyed the drink before taking a small sip. "Hey, this isn't bad."

Toshiro tuned them out, as Neville began handing bottles out to Ron, Harry and Hermione, in order to open his letters. After reading one particular letter from Ukitake regarding their swords, Toshiro quickly pulled out a fresh roll of parchment, wrote a quick response, and sent the owl on its way. Then he leaned over and spoke to Renji and Ichigo. "We need to talk later. We have a break between lunch and our next class. The three of us, including Rangiku and Rukia, need to get together for an important conversation regarding something at home."

The two nodded and Toshiro stood up. "Isn't class starting soon?"

Hermione looked down at her schedule. "You're right. We better go."

"First class is Divination." Ron said as everyone began gathering their things. "Since it's in the North Tower, we'll have to hurry."

* * *

After Chad regrouped with his fellow classmates, telling Ichigo that Urahara wanted them all to stay together for the first day of classes, the others headed out to Divination. Neville, who had been to North Tower before with Luna the time he decided to help her find her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook after several of her dorm mates hid it from her, easily led Toshiro, Ichigo and Renji up a narrow spiral staircase and onto a small landing with a trap door above them. Harry, Ron and Hermione had pulled back to speak to each other, telling them to go on ahead, and had appeared nearly three minutes before class was due to start, all three of them out of breath and shining with a thin layer of sweat on their faces.

Before anyone could ask them where they had been, the trap door above them fell open and a silvery ladder fell at Harry's feet. After some encouragement from Ron, Harry began climbing first, followed hesitantly, by the rest of the class. As soon as Toshiro entered the room, he sneezed and groaned. The room was disgustingly stuffy and filled with the scent of _waaay _too much perfume, causing him to sneeze once more as he followed Neville to one of several low round tables, each surrounded by hideous pink, purple, orange and pastel red poufs and chintz armchairs. Several reddish scarves and shawls were draped over every single lamp, giving the room a faint red tint. A softly roaring fire sat in the fire place at the front of the attic-like room, radiating with the perfumed aroma.

Toshiro made sure to sit at a table right beside a window and immediately perched on the sill and popped the window open, welcoming the rush of cool air. Neville, Ichigo and Renji plopped down into the overstuffed poufs and armchairs while Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at a table next to them. Toshiro scrunched his nose as the pouf Neville had plopped into puffed up more of the perfumed scent, causing him to sneeze again and glare at the infuriating furniture piece.

"Where is she?" Ron whispered behind him to Harry and Hermione.

"Greetings, children." Said a soft misty voice from the shadows of a part of the room. "It is so nice to finally meet you all in the physical world."

A tall woman with large spectacles, causing her eyes to seem twice as large as normal, and wrapped in several layers of thin shawls, despite the unnatural heat of the room, emerged from the shadows, almost magically to those without a trained eye. She practically glided around the room like an overgrown moth with too many colors and more than enough beaded necklaces around her neck. She turned her large eyes to Toshiro's table and her misty smile grew dramatically. "And welcome, at last, to our new transfer students. I knew this year would be quite unique, for I have foreseen your arrival. Welcome to the wonderful Hogwarts."

Toshiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes, though Renji and Ichigo failed to restrain themselves and started sniggering to each other as the professor glided away, fluttering her hands dramatically and giving her the appearance of someone attempting to fly away. Ichigo smirked and leaned over to whisper to Renji, loud enough for Toshiro and Neville to hear. "How much you want to bet I can manipulate her into thinking everything that happens is part of her 'predictions'?" Renji and Neville smirked and even Toshiro had to crack a small smile at the thought.

The fluttery woman continued to speak, oblivious to the plot forming against her within the skulls of Ichigo and Renji. "My name is Professor Trelawney, and as you may have guessed, I am the Divination teacher, your instructor into the Other Plane. You may not have seen me before, for I find that descending too far into the school clouds my Inner Eye, thus my refrain from leaving my quarters."

She eyed each of them in turn, her eyes lingering a few seconds longer on several of the students, including the transfers, Neville, and Harry. Then she whirled around and fluttered to the front of the class and began speaking again. "Now, you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of the magical world. For I regret to say that not all of you will be able to learn. There are many who do not possess the right mind set needed, and most importantly, the Inner Eye. There is very little I can teach those who do not possess the Sight. Books can only take you so far…"

Toshiro turned his head at the silent chuckle from Harry and Ron, who were looking slightly smug at the look Hermione had on her face, obviously feeling startled at the news that books wouldn't be able to help her much in this subject. Toshiro turned back to the front as Professor Trelawney continued.

"It is a Gift given graciously to a very few. You boy," she glanced suddenly at Neville, who shrank so far back into the pouf nervously that he nearly toppled off the other side. Toshiro shot a hand out and caught the robes around his shoulder, keeping him upright. "Is your grandmother well?"

Neville blinked nervously. "Um, I…I think so." He stuttered, glancing around in confusion.

"I would not be so sure if I were you, dear." Professor Trelawney said mystically. Neville whimpered and gulped fearfully.

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at him, frowning slightly. Ichigo and Renji mimicked him and Ichigo spoke to Trelawney. "Did you just threaten him? Or his grandmother?" he asked suspiciously.

Trelawney blinked in surprise at the sudden accusation. "Of course not." She huffed in offense. "I merely informed him that his grandmother may not be as well as he may think and to be careful."

Renji spoke up, sounding just as suspicious. "How would you know? I mean, I get that you may have 'seen' it, but the way you said it made it sound like her life was on the line."

"Just what the hell are you trying to pull?" Ichigo asked with narrowed eyes.

Trelawney appeared taken aback, most likely unused to students addressing her in such a way, or taking her predictions as personal threats. "I have foreseen it." She said, as if that were obvious.

"If you've foreseen it, then you should be able to tell him what's going to happen to her." Ichigo said slowly. "I mean, it is his grandmother, after all. If it was life threatening, he has a right to know, wouldn't he?" Neville looked fearfully between Ichigo, Renji and Trelawney, the class as a whole sitting with rapt attention on the scene before them, wondering what would happen. No one every argued with a teacher before, no matter how nutty.

Trelawney drew herself up and wrapped the shawls around her tighter, frowning at Ichigo. "The Inner Eye cannot be manipulated, my dear." She said tightly. "And to reveal everything one Sees could cause great catastrophes for the future."

"So you won't even tell him if it's life threatening or not?" Ichigo demanded almost furiously. "What's up with that?"

"I cannot." Trelawney said dramatically, almost mournfully. "It is too risky."

Ichigo scowled and narrowed his eyes at her, not liking the idea of someone hinting that something may be wrong with a loved one but not being told how or why. Almost as if they were dangling the information in a teasingly sinister manner. "Well, if she dies or something just as bad, we'll know who to blame, then, won't we?"

"Ichigo." Toshiro muttered quietly, looking pointedly at Neville. He seemed to be cowering into his pouf, looking fearful at the thought of something bad happening to his grandmother and appeared about ready to bolt from the room. Toshiro looked at Ichigo, who had followed his gaze to Neville. "That's enough."

Ichigo's expression softened at the horrified look on the boy's face. Then he scowled and sat back in the armchair, crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at the flustered professor, who quickly blinked several times before abruptly changing the subject. She began explaining the layout of the year's coursework to the class, avoiding eye contact with the transfers' table and Ichigo in particular. After warning a girl about a red-haired man, causing her to look at Ichigo, Renji and Ron with a startled look before scooting her seat away from Ron's, then predicting the leave of one of their classmates, and then predicting the something a girl was supposedly dreading happening on the sixteenth of October, she finally instructed the class to divide into pairs, grab a teacup from the back of the class, and bring it to her to be filled.

"Drink only until the dregs remain; then swish them around the cup three times with your left hand before turning it upside down and letting the excess moisture drain from the cup." She instructed. "Once the last of the tea has drained away, switch it with your partner's, and then interpret the patterns using the guide on pages five and six in your copies of _Unfogging the Future_. I shall instruct where I can." As everyone rose from their seats and began heading towards the back of the room, she glanced at the transfers hesitantly before taking hold of Neville's hand as he passed. "And dear, after you've broken your first cup, please select one of the blue ones. I rather like the pink."

Ichigo smirked at Renji when he heard this and winked. Neville headed to the shelf with the tea cups just as Ichigo picked up a pink cup and _psst!_ at him before carelessly tossing the cup to him. Neville reached out to catch it, the cup bounced off his fingers and landed on the floor with a soft chink of braking china. Ichigo and Renji snickered as Trelawney came fluttering over, brush and dust pan in hand. "One of the blue ones, then dear." She said airily, obviously pleased that her 'prediction' had come true. Neville frowned at them as he grabbed a blue cup.

Once they had returned to their seats, the four of them began working, Neville paired with Toshiro and Ichigo paired with Renji. Next to them, Harry, Ron and Hermione worked together, Harry passing his cup to Ron, who passed his to Hermione, who in turn passed hers to Harry. Toshiro passed his now drained cup to Neville and took his in turn. "You know," he started, looking pointedly at Ichigo and Renji. "Technically, _you_ made her prediction come true with the tea cup. She predicted the cup breaking at Neville's hands. She did not specify how. And technically, the cup _did_ break at his hands, because he touched it last before it broke. If you were trying to mock her, it would have been a better idea to **not** throw the cup at him and let him break it. Just a thought." He said with a shrug.

Ichigo and Renji blinked at each other before realizing that he was right and scowling. Neville snickered, his earlier gloom vanishing slightly. They continued working, Toshiro predicting Neville to become ill and suddenly fine himself lost in the near future. Neville, to the alarm of the three Soul Reapers, predicted ice storms in Toshiro's future, along with the betrayal of one he called a friend. Toshiro didn't like the sound of the ice, but figured it had something to do with Hyorinmaru. As for the friend turned enemy, Toshiro wasn't sure if Neville was talking about the past with Aizen or the future with one of his own companions or if the prediction was just coincidental.

He was broken out of his musings by the snort of laughter coming from Harry, apparently finding whatever Ron had said amusing. As he expected, Professor Trelawney glided over and snatched the cup from Ron. The class leaned in to listen as she began examining Harry's cup, though Ichigo and Renji had decided it would be more productive to talk about what was for lunch later. Neville found it difficult to keep a straight face as Ichigo threatened to stab Renji with a fork during lunch and Toshiro rolled his eyes. Suddenly Trelawney gasped and screamed.

Neville jumped beside Toshiro, his cup falling from Neville's hands and smashing on the surface of the table. Trelawney sat dramatically into her seat, her hand flying to her chest and her eyes closing mournfully. "Oh, my dear… my poor dear… such ill fortune… no, it is better not to say… don't ask me…"

"What's wrong, Professor?" a boy asked, as if he could refrain from asking with the crazy lady being so dramatic. The majority of the class, with the exception of the transfers, and Neville when he noticed that Toshiro showed no interest, gathered around Harry's table, eager to see what was in Harry's cup.

Trelawney opened her eyes and stared dramatically at Harry. "My dear. You have the Grim."

"The what?" Harry asked in confusion. Toshiro frowned, for he had read several books in the bookstore during his free time while in Diagon Alley and had read about the Grim. Apparently it was a sort of death omen, taking the form of a large, massive black dog. Several of the other students, Neville included, gasped and stared at Harry in horror.

"It is an omen of _Death_!" Trelawney cried.

Hermione looked skeptical as she glanced at Harry's cup. "_I_ don't think it looks like a Grim." She stated flatly.

Toshiro could tell Trelawney didn't approve much of Hermione and was truly glad when she finally released them for the day. Gathering his things quickly, he and the others left the room and headed down the stairs until they reached the landing that signaled the beginning of the main part of the school. Thoughts raced through his mind as he followed Neville down corridors, heading to their next class, Transfiguration. Hopefully this class would be more productive and less upsetting.

* * *

**A/N: I know there are a lot of readers here who might be a bit upset about my adding Orihime and the others but don't worry. They won't be playing that much of a role here. They're more like support characters. Except maybe Chad cuz Chad is awesome. And I have thought and thought and have decided that there will be NO pairings of any kind whatsoever. I felt that this decision was safest for all of us. As for the new class, I hope this works in everyone's mind. It works well in my mind but it was extremely hard to get it down on paper properly. You know how it is. But basically what I decided was that there will be two half classes, like in real life, sort of. Fridays will be a sort of exercising class that exercises both the mental and magical mind and allows the class to tap into their "spiritual magic". And then Saturdays would be trying to test your "spiritual magic" in an eastern form of magic called "Kido". They will also be trying to channel their "spiritual magic" into a solid object, making an ordinary everyday object more powerful that by itself. I had to think through all this several times and then some before I was finally satisfied with the idea. Hope it works for you and if not, sorry.**

**Also, I hope I got Chad, Uryu, Orihime, and Urahara down right. I'm not very good with them, mostly because I don't usually pay much attention to them in the anime and manga. Except Chad. Like I said, Chad is awesome. But if there is a better way to write them, please let me know and I'll try my best. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**And in case you were wondering, Ichigo's letters were from each of his sisters, his father, and Kenpachi once he learned that Ichigo was on the mission; Renji's letters were from Byakuya, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa; Rukia's letters were from Byakuya (I'm having him be a bit nicer to her in this), and Ukitake (her captain); and Rangiku's letters were from Ukitake, Shunsui (her drinking partner), and a few other random drinking buddies. The box of tinkling glass was also from Shunsui, containing sake, in case you hadn't guessed. And each of the shinigami received a box of sweets and ramune, put together by Ukitake and Yachiru. I've tried every one of these sweets and I love them, so I decided to promote them through this story. I totally recommend them. There's a whole site online that has tons of stuff. It's called www . asian food grocer . com or net, can't remember which (but without the spaces)**

***Dorris the Dimwitted: made up, as far as I know, by me.**


	16. Buckbeak

**A/N: Hey everyone. Thanks so much for the reviews. They certainly gave me the boost I needed to want to start writing the next chapter as soon as possible. But first I would just like to thank those who've wished me a better health. I'm pleased to say that I feel better than ever right now. I don't mind being sick sometimes but I hate vomiting. It sucks when there's nothing left in your stomach but your stomach is still determined to turn itself inside out. Ugh!**

**Also, thanks for those who reviewed and told me about the error I put in there about Uryu's seating near the beginning of the chapter. I kept getting confused the few times I wrote his name because when I write ****Uryu****, I end up spelling ****Urahara**** instead and vice versa. But I went back and fixed it, so now it says that URYU went to Ravenclaw, instead of URAHARA. So there you go and thanks for letting me know. That's the stuff I need. And thanks goes out to the reviewer who gave me a bit of an insight on Uryu, Chad and Orihime. That will definitely help. Well, enjoy the chapter.**

**BTW: This was actually supposed to go up on Wednesday but I couldn't get to an internet source until today. Sorry for the delay but at least it's nice and long.**

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**Chapter Sixteen: Buckbeak**

They reached the Transfiguration classroom with barely enough time to take their seats before the bell rang and Professor McGonagall swept into the room. Harry, Ron and Hermione took seats as far back as possible, Ron beside Harry and Hermione in front of him. Toshiro chose a seat beside one of the windows with Neville beside him, Ichigo in front of him and Renji in front of Neville. Toshiro noticed that several students, Neville included he noted with a reproving frown, were shooting cautious and apprehensive glanced back towards Harry, as if expecting him to drop dead any second.

Toshiro reached out and lightly smacked Neville's shoulder, causing the boy to snap around and then shrink in embarrassment at the frown on his face. "Staring is extremely rude." He whispered to him. "Especially when it obviously makes him feel uncomfortable. What if that lady had predicted that stuff about you and everyone kept looking at you as if expecting you to keel over and die where you sat? Would _you_ enjoy everyone staring?"

Neville hung his head, feeling ashamed. "No, I guess not. Sorry."

The class remained silent while Professor McGonagall lectured the class on Animagi which, Toshiro noted with slight interest, were witches and wizards who could transform themselves at will into the form of an animal. Toshiro took feverish notes, copying down nearly everything she said on the subject, word for word, his quill flying across the parchment and his thoughts wandered apprehensively. He wondered vaguely if Voldemort or Sirius Black knew about Animagi and if so, could either of them do it? Is this how they've managed to not be seen?

He saw Ichigo and Renji perk up with interest as McGonagall transformed herself in front of the entire class into a black and grey tabby cat, complete with squared markings around her eyes where her spectacles would have been. That trick _could_ be useful. But Toshiro had to admit that it could also be dangerous in the wrong hands, so to speak. If the shinigami could do it, it might give them the upper hand when it came time to fight Aizen. However, at the same time, if the shinigami could do it, then there was no reason to believe that Aizen and his group couldn't do it, too. Did Aizen know about the wizarding world? None of them had known until this mission, except for Head-Captain Yamamoto. Perhaps Aizen _didn't_ know about this technique. For now, they would have to continue to observe these witches and wizards, learn all that they could, and keep their assigned mission in the process.

Toshiro sighed in exasperation when McGonagall turned back to her original form with a frown. "Really, what _is_ the matter with you all? Not that I'm complaining, but this is the first time my transformation hasn't gotten an applause from a class."

Toshiro rolled his eyes as the class turned apprehensively to stare at Harry, who shrank into his seat, obviously wanting nothing more than to disappear. Hermione raised her hand hesitantly. "Please, professor. We've just been to our first Divination lesson and we were reading the tea leaves and…"

McGonagall held up a hand, her lips forming a slightly knowing frown and Toshiro wondered if she was trying not to roll her eyes. "I understand. There's no need to explain any further, Miss Granger. Tell me, who will be dying this time?"

Ichigo snorted. Harry raised a timid hand. "Me." He said miserably.

"I see." McGonagall said slowly. "Then I can assure you, Potter, that Professor Trelawney has made similar death predictions at least once a year, as her favorite way of greeting a new class, and not one of them has died so far. You look in perfect health to me, so you will excuse me if I don't refrain from giving you homework. If you die, then you don't have to turn it in. Fair enough?"

Hermione laughed and Harry nodded, smiling slightly. He felt a bit better with someone like McGonagall joking about something like this and it sounded less likely now that he was away from the overwhelming aroma of Trelawney's classroom. Ichigo turned in his seat and looked at Harry. "Hey, Harry. If you're really worried about dying, then maybe you should start walking around in bubble wrap. Just don't be offended if someone tries to mail you or make you bounce down a flight of stairs."

Harry and Hermione, along with a few other muggle-borns, laughed softly at the idea of Harry bouncing down corridors wrapped in bubble wrap. McGonagall cleared her throat. "Now that that's cleared up…" and they continued on with their lesson, but not without whispered comments from the rest of the students. Toshiro heard a girl behind him whisper to the girl beside her, "What about Neville's cup?"

Ichigo and Renji, who seemed to have heard her, began snickering and glanced back to Neville, who scowled at them. "Yeah, what about my cup?" he whispered to them mockingly. Though now, Toshiro could see that Neville didn't seem quite as flustered as he had when the Grim had first been brought up. That was good, because Neville didn't seem to have as much confidence as he should, and Toshiro was sure that talk about death omens wouldn't help matters.

After class ended, Toshiro and Neville followed the crowd down to the Great Hall for lunch, Ichigo and Renji wandering on ahead in order to sit with the Weasley twins, whom they found pleasant company. Toshiro took a seat almost directly in front of a tea pot and immediately poured himself a cup before he began serving himself. As he reached for a plate of Onigiri, he noticed Harry and the other two sit close by, Harry with a slight frown on his face and Ron casting nervous glances toward him out of the corner of his eye. Hermione seemed indifferent as she spooned something into a bowl before pushing the serving bowl towards Ron, speaking softly to him.

"So, what did you think of your first lessons here?" Neville asked him, pulling his gaze away from the group. He glanced at one of the Onigiri on Toshiro's plate curiously before shrugging and grabbing one for himself from the nearby plate. "What's in this?"

"It wasn't so bad." Toshiro answered the first question airily. "It was different from what we're used to but with the same concept. And that's just rice, with an Umeboshi."

"How is it different from how you do things where you're from?" Neville asked as he scrutinized his Onigiri. "And does this taste good? I mean, I wouldn't think of rice as something to eat for lunch _and_ dinner _and_ dessert, like those chocolate rice things you guys ate last night."

"It's not much different except that we were taught with only one teacher, and it was all pretty practical with lectures in between." Toshiro said. "And rice can be eaten however you want. It would just be better if you didn't mess with it. You know, like add things it doesn't need. For example, if rice is served to you white, then it should stay white. If something drips from you food while it's being transferred to your mouth, instead of letting it drip to the table top, like we frowned upon last night, it would be better to catch it with your rice. But then you should eat the part of the rice that was discolored, so that the rice is white once again."

"So you only had one teacher?" Neville asked as he finally bit into the Onigiri. Upon realizing that it wasn't that bad, he took a bigger bite and turned back to Toshiro. "What's that like? And you guys have a lot of rules."

"It's not so bad. It's easier when you don't have a dozen or so other people demanding attention at the same time. It makes distractions easier as well." Toshiro shrugged. "And you have the same amount of rules. They're not as much rules as they are guidelines. I believe it's called Table Manners. You have them too. Elbows on the table. Eating repulsively. _Talking with your mouth full_." He looked pointedly at Neville, who swallowed and chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It would be easier that way." He gave another small chuckle. "And yeah, we do have those same guidelines. Like sitting up straight when eating and knowing the difference between a dinner fork and a salad fork and things like that. My Gran frowns on bad table manners. I think you might actually like her."

Before Toshiro could respond, they both turned at the banging sound of something hitting the table. Hermione had slammed her book onto the table and was glaring at Ron while she spoke before getting to her feet and leaving the Great Hall. Toshiro turned back to Neville, raising an eyebrow curiously. Then he felt a hand tap his shoulder. He turned back to see Harry and Ron looking at him.

"Hey, Toshiro. You have Arithmancy with Hermione, right?" Ron asked from the other side of Harry.

Toshiro nodded curtly. "I do." He said shortly.

"You haven't been there yet, have you?" Harry asked.

Toshiro gave another nod. "I have."

Ron and Harry gave him a quizzical look. "How's that possible?" Neville asked beside him, also looking perplexed. "Your timetable said Arithmancy was at the same time as Divination. But you were sitting right next to me the whole time. How could you have gone to Arithmancy _and_ Divination at the same time?"

"That's for me to know and you _not_ to find out." Toshiro answered tersely. "I've already dealt with this with Professor McGonagall. Don't worry about it. It's not like there's a rule against it, is there?"

Neville shrugged. "Well, no." he admitted. "It just seems weird, is all. But now that I think about it, are you sure you can handle so many classes? I mean, Hermione _might_ be able to pull it off based on what we know about her but we don't know much about you and your study habits. I'm just wondering if you're not going to suddenly feel overwhelmed and collapse or something."

Toshiro shook his head. "I've had a bigger work load than this many times. My paperwork alone was as thick as all the paperwork for one year here, possibly thicker. We worked every day, including weekends, from sun up to sun down, on either paperwork, practical lessons, or else learning theories and other useful things on the side. Constantly studying and absorbing information as much as possible. We had tests all the time and always at random so that we had to always be prepared and always have the answers at hand without having to refer to our notes all the time. The information was practically drilled into our brains." _Of course, half of this is about our duties as Soul Reapers and the other half is of my time in the academy and during the majority of that time, the study habits were all created by me myself. But they don't need to know that._

Ron, Harry and Neville looked horrorstruck and Toshiro smirked. "If you're done gaping like fish, we do have another class starting soon."

As he had hoped, the subject was dropped as the three quickly turned back to their food and continued eating as much of their food as possible before lunch ended and the food was whisked back into the kitchens. Toshiro filled three more cups of tea, drank out of one and just as they were gathering their things for their next class, Toshiro swiped the last two cups from the table and followed Neville outside, sipping at one of the cups contently, to Neville's amusement.

The group headed out of the castle and onto the school grounds, heading to the entire class' first ever Care of Magical Creatures class. As they headed down to a small hut, Toshiro spotted Ichigo and Renji up ahead and got near enough to hear Ichigo mutter a bit loudly. "Don't tell me we've got this class with that stuck up prick and his wannabe body guards."

Sure enough, as they peered past Ichigo and Renji, they spotted Draco Malfoy and the rest of the third year Slytherins crowded around in front of the hut, at a considerable and obvious distance from the other Gryffindors. Toshiro didn't even bother to try not to roll his eyes as he realized that this class might end up being more eventful than it should if two of the most rivaling houses were going to be in the same class. Toshiro heard Neville sigh in exasperation beside him and Harry groan from behind. Neville nudged Toshiro and whispered. "Something tells me this class might not end well. Hagrid's teaching and the Slytherins don't treat him with the same respect that they do with the other teachers. Not really sure why. But I bet you anything that Draco Malfoy will be leading the Slytherins. He always does because he's a Malfoy and they're one of the oldest purebloods around."

"Blood means everything to these people, huh?" Toshiro whispered back.

"Yeah, but mostly to the Slytherins." Neville replied. "Gryffindors don't really care about blood types and other prejudice things like that and nether do the other houses as far as I know."

Toshiro nodded as they reached the hut, where the large man who had been announced the new teacher of this class was standing in front of the door with a large boarhound beside him, the man obviously impatient to start as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Once the class was assembled, the man, Hagrid, beamed at them through his mane of wild black hair and beard. "Got a real treat for yeh all. Everyone here? Great, follow me."

The class followed him as he walked away from hit hut towards the forest before veering left and leading them towards a large empty paddock. Then he beamed down at them again, seemingly growing excited. "Right. Now, everyone gather 'round. Tha's it. Can everyone see? Good, now first open yer books to – "

"How?" Malfoy asked coldly, sneering up at Hagrid.

"Eh? How?" Hagrid asked in confusion.

"How are we supposed to open our books?" Malfoy held up his book, which was wrapped tightly in coils of rope. The other students pulled out their copies as well and Toshiro noticed with mild interest that the others had bound their books similarly to Malfoy's, some with tape, others with belts and even some in tightly fitting sacks.

Hagrid seemed to wilt. "Hasn', hasn' anyone been able ter open their books?" he asked sadly.

Most of the class shook their heads. Toshiro raised his book, which was sitting calmly in his hand, opened, above his head. "I have." The rest of the class turned as one to stare incredulously at him. Renji raised his book as well. "So have I."

"How?" Neville asked Toshiro in amazement.

Toshiro shrugged. "I just opened it. It tried to bite me but after I let it know that _**I**_ was in charge, it was fine." He cocked his head towards Renji. "And Renji just has a bit of an affinity for most animals." _Particularly those related to the baboon and snake, but others too._

"Why didn't you tell me you knew how to open the book?" Harry demanded.

Toshiro shrugged again. "You didn't ask. I figured you used your common sense and opened it yourself."

"Common sense?" Neville asked in bewilderment.

Toshiro sighed and began explaining as if speaking to children, which technically he was. "This book is called the Monster Book of Monsters. It is a book for magical creatures. A.K.A., animals, roughly. And with most animals, the alpha prevails. Take for example, a dog. If you show the dog that **you** are the master, it will learn to obey you. But if you act out in fear, it will sense it and walk all over you. Animals detect fear and use it against you. This book is no different. Think of it as a magical creature. Show it who's in charge."

"Yeh could do that." Hagrid conceded, looking slightly impressed by the way Toshiro took command of his book and inwardly swelling with pride at learning that Renji had a knack for animals. He grabbed Hermione's book and pulled off the tape binding it shut. "But all yeh really need to do is stroke 'em." He raised a large finger and stroked the spine of the book, which shuddered before falling open, unmoving.

"Oh, we need to _stroke_ them." Draco sneered. "How stupid of us. Why ever didn't we think of _that_?"

"I thought it was funny." Hagrid said as he handed Hermione her book.

"Hilarious." Draco muttered.

"It's actually pretty clever if you ask me." Ichigo snapped.

"No one asked you." Malfoy scowled with narrowed eyes.

Ichigo glared back. "No one asked for **your** opinion and yet you still gave it. Unless you want a rep as a hypocrite, shut your face." Ichigo shot back.

Malfoy glared at Ichigo and Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward, both flexing their muscles in intimidation. Renji stepped up beside Ichigo and grinned tauntingly. "Bring it, turds."

Neville snorted. "'_Turds'_?" he asked with a chuckle. Several other students snickered as well. Crabbe and Goyle growled menacingly.

"Honestly, you guys are _so_ intelligent." Toshiro muttered sarcastically. "You do realize that fighting in front of someone who has the power to give out detentions is not only stupid, but seeing as how he can also take points away, the rest of your housemates won't be too happy with you if you make them lose any, no matter who you are. Not to mention how your Head of House would react upon hearing that their students were stupid enough to fight in front of authority figures. And get caught." At seeing the puzzled looks on the two Slytherins, Toshiro rolled his eyes and said slowly and deliberately. "Fighting in front of a teacher is a no-no. He'll take points. Your friends will be mad at you. And so will your Head of House. Save it for another day."

Crabbe and Goyle exchanged stupid looks before turning to Malfoy, as if seeking instructions. Malfoy glared at the three exchange students, Toshiro in particular, but nodded to his lackeys. He was beginning to dislike this kid less and less. Who was he to speak this way to _him_? He was a _Malfoy_, darn it! Where was the respect? "Save it." He muttered reluctantly.

Toshiro looked at him dully. "A smart move." Malfoy glowered but bit his tongue.

"Uh, right." Hagrid said nervously, determined to bring the class back on track before it got ugly. "Well, now that yeh got yer books, ye'll need the creatures. So, uh, I'll go fetch them." Then he turned and entered the paddock.

Draco muttered more nonsense once Hagrid was out of sight and Harry snapped back at him before Hagrid returned, leading a dozen or so odd looking creatures. They had the body and entire back ends of horses but their front legs and head were that of a large eagle, each with a nasty looking beak and bright orange eyes. Their large grey deadly-looking talons dug in the dirt as they eyed the students apprehensively. Hagrid lead them to the front of the class, which took tentative steps back, chains in hands leading up to the leather collars around each creature's neck, and grinned cheerily.

"These here are called Hippogriffs." He said as he tethered the creatures to posts along the fence. "Right beautiful creatures, they are. Come a bit closer, tha's it." At first, none of the students seemed to want to get closer but finally Harry, Ron, Hermione and the transfer students stepped forward; Harry, Ron and Hermione approaching cautiously and the transfers stepping up more boldly. Seeing Toshiro and the others step up, Neville took a couple tentative steps, and seeing timid Neville get close, it wasn't long before the rest of the class had gotten closer as well, albeit further back.

"Now, first thing yeh need to know about Hippogriffs is they're proud." Hagrid said. "They get easily offended, see. Yeh never insult a hippogriff or it'll be the last thing yeh ever do."

Toshiro looked up as Ichigo nudged him and gestured towards where Malfoy was standing. Toshiro turned and noticed that he and his two goons weren't listening to what Hagrid was saying and instead were whispering to each other, occasionally glancing deviously in Hagrid's direction as he continued to instruct the class on proper behavior towards a hippogriff. Toshiro made eye contact with Ichigo and Renji and gave a small nod, a silent instruction to keep an eye on the three. The two nodded back and the three resumed listening to Hagrid, keeping a trained eye on the three suspicious Slytherins.

"Always wait for the hippogriff ter make the first move." He continued. "It's polite and they like politeness, see? What yeh do is yeh walk up to him, yeh bow, and wait. If he bows back, yeh can touch him. If he doesn' bow back, then slowly back away from him, 'cause he might get offended if yeh stay around when he doesn't want yeh to. Now, who wants te go first?"

No one wanted to move forward. They all eyed the hippogriffs apprehensively, as the hippogriffs clearly didn't like being tied up and constantly tossed their heads and opened and closed their great wings. Toshiro hung back, not out of fear, but out of wanting the rest of the class, who clearly had courage problems despite their placement in Gryffindor, house of courage, to step up and take the initiative. None seemed to want to.

"No one?" Hagrid said, almost pleadingly.

Renji drew himself up and was about to step forward but Harry beat him to it, taking a deep breath before saying, "I'll do it."

There was a small gasp and Toshiro turned to see two girls, the two who had most seemed to take Trelawney's predictions to heart, staring fearfully at Harry's back. "Harry, no, don't forget your tea leaves!" they whispered. Toshiro rolled his eyes and Ichigo scoffed loud enough for them to hear. They turned and shot him dirty looks, which he countered by showing them his middle finger. They both gasped, looking affronted, and turned away, their noses in the air pompously.

"Ichigo's clearly the lady's man." Neville whispered sarcastically to Toshiro. Toshiro smirked and Renji snorted, having heard Neville's comment. Ichigo frowned and stuck his tongue at him.

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid roared, bringing them back to the lesson. "Right, let's see how yeh do with Buckbeak here."

Hagrid walked over to the grey hippogriff and pulled him away from the others and over to Harry, who had climbed over the fence of the paddock to stand inside. Hagrid pulled off the collar and backed away, leaving Harry and Buckbeak relatively alone. The tension was so thick on the other side of the paddock that Harry could feel it himself as he watched the hippogriff eye him suspiciously.

"Easy, Harry." Hagrid said quietly. "Make eye contact and wait and see if he'll meet it. Good. Now bow, nice and easy." Harry bowed but the hippogriff didn't seem to want to reciprocate. "Ah, back away, Harry, careful now." Harry started backing away but before he could take more than two steps, the hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly legs and bowed back to him.

"Great job, Harry!" Hagrid said proudly. "Now ye can touch him. Go ahead, jus' pet his beak."

Harry reluctantly stepped up to Buckbeak and timidly petted his beak. The class seemed to let out a breath it hadn't realized it was holding and began cheering, glad Harry hadn't been killed.

"Now I reckon he'll let yeh ride him." Hagrid said and gave Harry a slight push towards Buckbeak's feathery back. "Just climb up but make sure yeh don't pull out any of his feathers, he won't like that."

Harry climbed up onto Buckbeak's back and planted himself just behind the large wings, looking a bit uncomfortable. Hagrid stepped up behind Buckbeak. "Off yeh go, then!" he shouted and slapped Buckbeak's hindquarters. Immediately the hippogriff shot off, Harry barely having time to wrap his arms around it's neck, and flew into the air, flying several feet above the ground. Harry seemed to be holding on for dear life as the hippogriff flew around the class a couple times before coming back down. Toshiro and the other transfers waited apprehensively, hoping Harry didn't fall off before or during the landing. They didn't want him getting stepped on by mistake. Thankfully Harry managed to stay on as the hippogriff landed, a bit roughly, and stood still once more. Harry slid off the hippogriff's back, obviously not being able to get off fast enough, and the class erupting into relieved applause.

"Good job, Harry!" Hagrid yelled happily. "Who wants ter go next?"

Harry's success with the hippogriff seemed to spark a new flare of courage in the other students, who all began gathering closer, now interested in impressing the creatures themselves. Toshiro, Ichigo, Renji, and Neville gathered around the black one, Harry watched as Ron and Hermione used the chestnut colored hippogriff and Toshiro noted that Malfoy and the other two had taken over Buckbeak. Toshiro turned half his attention back to their own hippogriff, which had bowed to Renji first, instead of Renji making the first move.

Neville took a turn with the hippogriff and after staying bowed for all of five seconds, he backed away quickly. He didn't get very far, as Toshiro stepped up behind him and began pushing him back towards the creature. "What are you doing?" Neville asked fearfully, trying to resist as Toshiro pushed him back. Toshiro was surprisingly strong for his size.

"He said to bow and then wait." Toshiro answered, maneuvering him back in front of the black hippogriff.

"I did wait." Neville said.

"Yes, for like five seconds." Toshiro snapped. "You didn't even give it time to respond. Are you a Gryffindor or a chicken?"

Neville frowned at him and sighed. He faced the hippogriff again, who was eyeing him wearily, and bowed, forcing himself to wait longer than five seconds. After about twenty seconds, he was counting, the hippogriff bowed back. "See. Told you." Toshiro muttered.

Feeling a bit surprised, Neville stepped timidly toward the hippogriff and cautiously petted its beak. He nearly jumped a foot in the air when a scream filled their ears. Everyone turned in time to see Malfoy fall to the ground, blood starting to ooze into his robes from one of his sleeves. Hagrid was forcing Buckbeak back into his collar and retied him to the fence a little ways away from the class.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy moaned, clutching his arm and rolling on the ground. Blood oozed from a nasty-looking cut on his arm and dripped onto the grass when Hagrid picked him up and began running back to the castle with Malfoy in his arms.

"W-what happened?" Neville asked fearfully, slowly backing away from the hippogriff that he was currently standing next to.

"That idiot." Ichigo muttered as the class began trekking back towards the castle.

"They should fire him straight away!" cried a girl with the Slytherin insignia on her robes, her face tear-streaked.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" a boy snapped back.

"What happened?" Neville repeated softly to Toshiro.

"Mr. High and Mighty insulted the hippogriff after he was clearly instructed not to." Renji said angrily.

Ichigo turned to Neville. "Will they put it down?" he asked softly. "The hippogriff, I mean. Most places I know, if an animal attacks a human, no matter what type, they euthanize it. Will they do that here?"

Neville looked worried. "I hope not. It's not its fault. And Hagrid really likes animals. If they kill it, he'll be heartbroken."

"Stupid, pompous, imbecile." Renji seethed.

The crying Slytherin girl declared she was going to check on Malfoy and proceeded up the stairs, obviously heading towards the Hospital Wing. The transfers followed the rest of the Gryffindors up to Gryffindor Tower and into their common room. Toshiro quickly passed the rest of the students and made his way to one of the only corners of the room with a window away from the roaring fire and placed his school bag on the windowsill, obviously staking claim to that spot. Neville raised an eyebrow but merely shrugged and followed, placing his own bag on the low table and taking a seat in one of the recliners.

Harry, Ron and Hermione proceeded to their own dormitories, deposited their bags and returned to take seats around the same table as Neville and Toshiro; Ichigo and Renji had wandered off to where the Weasley twins and their dreadlock friend were talking animatedly. Toshiro raised an eyebrow questioningly and Harry shrugged. "This is usually where we sit. It's just a habit to come over here."

Neville pointed to a corner on the other side of the room, where a small couch was perched against a wall. "I usually sit over there in that corner with Dean and Seamus."

"Why aren't you?" Toshiro asked.

"You want me to leave?" Neville asked, looking hurt.

Toshiro shook his head. "That's not what I said. If you usually sit over there, why the change? Why suddenly sit over here?"

"Oh." Neville said. He looked thoughtful. "I don't really know. I guess I sort of feel like a third wheel with them. I mean, they're okay and all, but they don't really act much like my friends. They're more of just dorm mates. When we talk about classes and other stuff, it almost seems like they don't take in a word I say when I try to contribute. I mean, I know I'm forgetful and accident-prone, but I didn't think that made me bad to be around or anything."

"If that's how they treat you, why do you hang out with them?" Hermione asked reprovingly, glaring in the direction of the two boys in question.

Neville shrugged. "I don't really have any friends. I mean, I do, but not in Gryffindor. Everyone else treats me much the same as them." He turned to Toshiro. "But you don't. You treat me more like a person rather than like a bother. I guess that's why I'm over here."

"We don't do that." Ron said defensively.

Neville gave him an almost sad smile. "Then why do you guys brush me off when we meet in the corridors or something? I **have** noticed, you know. When I try to talk to you, you act like I'm interrupting something or like you're not in the mood to deal with me." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at him guiltily, their mouths opening to speak, obviously to apologize. Neville shrugged. "It's okay. I'm not blaming you or saying it to make you feel bad. But I'm not like you guys. I don't go around breaking rules and getting into trouble and stuff. I don't get into fights with Malfoy and I don't exactly take risks in anything I do. I'm pretty neutral, which is like the opposite of you guys, so we don't exactly coincide much." He gave a small laugh. "I kind of have to be neutral; if my Gran found out I had gotten in trouble for the smallest thing, she'd have my head."

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Harry, Ron and Hermione headed down to the Great Hall for dinner before the majority of the others, obviously wanting to speak with Hagrid. Toshiro and Neville headed down a while later and noticed that Hagrid was nowhere in sight. Neville turned to Toshiro. "Do you want to sit with Luna today?" he asked.

Toshiro shrugged and the two of them headed for the Ravenclaw table and sat down across from a dreamy looking Luna. Rukia and Uryu, who were both in a heated conversation, looked up curiously at his presence but when he merely shrugged and sat down with Neville across from a girl with stringy short blond hair, they shrugged and continued their conversation.

Luna looked up at them with a dreamy expression and said softly. "Hello."

"Hi, Luna." Neville said with a nod as he began piling food onto a plate.

"Hi." Toshiro said curtly. He wasn't entirely sure about her yet.

"I suppose the whole school is talking about what happened in your Care of Magical Creatures class." Luna said conversationally. "Hippogriffs are really magnificent creatures and would never harm a human for no reason. I suppose a Vargle must have been lurking around. They're very rude, you know."

"Are they?" Neville asked. "That must have been something to do with it, then. Can they influence others to be rude? Because Hagrid told us not to be rude and insult them or else they'll attack. But Malfoy didn't listen and he insulted one."

Luna nodded. "Oh, yes. They can be quite influential."

Toshiro tuned them out as they continued to talk about Malfoy and the hippogriff, and looked around the table. The hat had considered putting him in this house and as he looked around, he noticed that the majority of the students here had their noses buried in books or else they were having deep discussions about their thoughts on their classes so far. The older students were already comparing notes and study ideas. As Toshiro continued to look around, his gaze drifted to the double doors, which were partly open, and his eyes narrowed as a familiar stuffed orange lion peeked its head through, looking around excitedly. Toshiro noticed it spot Rukia and scuttled towards their table.

Toshiro glanced at Luna and Neville, noticed that neither of them were looking at him and deliberately elbowed the nearest fork off the table. "Excuse me." He said and placed his chopsticks on the table before ducking under. He spotted the lion scurrying under the table, occasionally stopping to peer up a skirt, and stealthily crawled over and grabbed it, wrapping his hand around its head and his fingers over its mouth. It began struggling but froze when Toshiro spoke in an icy voice.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" he demanded. He let go of its head and turned it to face him. He glared down at the mod soul inside the stuffed animal, which coward before him. "You were instructed to stay in the dormitory. So what the hell are you doing down here?"

"S-sorry, taicho." Kon muttered quietly. "But I was bored! There's nothing to do up there."

"Keep your voice down!" Toshiro hissed at him, shaking him slightly. "I don't care if you're bored. If you're caught, you might jeopardize everything we're working for."

"I won't get caught." Kon insisted.

"Like you weren't caught just now?" Toshiro asked.

"That's different." Kon said. "You're captain ranked. You're supposed to be overly observant. But these kids aren't going to notice. Besides, even if they do, all they'll think is that I'm a charmed stuffed animal, like Ichigo said to that Potter kid."

Before Toshiro could respond, Neville's voice floated over to him. "Toshiro? How long does it take to pick up a fork? And what are you doing over there?" Toshiro scowled down at Kon, mouthed to be quiet, and crawled back towards his seat. He pulled himself up and held up Kon.

"Found this under the table." He said lightly.

Neville and Luna looked at it curiously. "Do you think it belongs to one of the girls here?" Neville asked.

Toshiro shook his head, an idea forming in his head. It was Ichigo's responsibility to keep tabs on Kon anyways, and he clearly wasn't doing a good job. Toshiro needed to fix that. "No, it's Ichigo's."

Neville's eyes widened incredulously. "_Ichigo's_?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes. He must have dropped it somewhere. I'll return it later." He placed Kon into a pocket of his robes and continued eating. Once dinner was over, the two said goodbye to Luna and headed back to Gryffindor Tower, Neville obviously at peace with food in his belly. They headed toward the corner they had been in earlier, began taking out books, parchment, and quills, and settled down to start on their homework. Harry, Ron and Hermione soon joined them.

Toshiro looked up and surveyed the room. It seemed to be filled with every Gryffindor and Ichigo and Renji were once again with the Weasley twins and their friend, whom he learned was named Lee Jordan. Good. Toshiro pulled Kon out of his pocket and, ignoring the curious looks from Ron and Hermione as to why he had a stuffed lion in his pocket, he held it up high over his head and called loudly. "Ichigo! I found that stuffed lion you sleep with! It was under the Ravenclaw table!"

As he had expected, his announcement had quieted the room and several people began snickering as what he said sank in. Ichigo scowled, his face turning red as he glared daggers at the little captain. "I don't want it." He said.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I thought you said your little sisters wanted to you _keep an eye on it_. That's why you sleep with it."

"I don't sleep with it!" Ichigo snapped, glaring at Renji as he openly started laughing, enticing others to laugh as well. He stomped over to Toshiro and snatched the lion away.

"_Next time I tell you to keep tabs on him, keep tabs on him!_" Toshiro snapped in Japanese after he pulled his ring off. "_I found him scuttling under tables, looking up girls' skirts. Do you really want him associated with you if he gets caught? Especially now that everyone knows he belongs to you._"

Ichigo pulled off his ring and snapped back. "_That's low._" He growled.

"_Then keep better tabs on him. We don't need anything jeopardizing the mission!_" Toshiro snapped.

"_Fine!_" Ichigo growled and stomped up the stairs to the dormitory and returned a few seconds later without the stuffed lion.

Toshiro placed his ring back on his finger and continued working, ignoring the curious gazes of the other four. Eventually Harry, Ron and Hermione left the common room, muttering about going to see Hagrid while it's still early. After another couple hours of working, in which Toshiro and Neville were able to get the majority of their homework finished except for Divination, which Toshiro didn't want to bother with just yet, they finally headed up to bed. They and the other boys of the dorm quickly prepared for bed, Harry and Ron returning a while later, and everyone settled in for the night. As he bade Neville a good night, he couldn't help feeling a sense of foreboding for what lay ahead of them. The first day of classes had been extremely eventful and full of disasters but Toshiro had a feeling that this was just the beginning and the worst was yet to come. _God, I hate this mission!_

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**A/N: Yay, I finished! This chapter was kind of hard for me to write. So many details and I didn't want everything to be like the books. We all know the details about what our trio talked about with the Grim, and while they were in Care of Magical Creatures, and what really happened with Malfoy, and what they spoke about during dinner and all that other stuff. So I decided to have other things taking place during those times. Hence, Neville's experiences with the hippogriff, he and Toshiro sitting with Luna, who is just hilarious, and I even decided to put a bit of Neville-pity in there. I don't think Dean and Seamus actually treat Neville that bad but people do seem to disregard him a lot, including Harry, Ron and Hermione, though she tends to give him a bit more attention than the others do. So I decided to let them see that but to take it a bit further. Not trying to bash on Dean or Seamus. Just want them to see how they and everyone else treats him and what effects that has on him. Hopefully, Toshiro will realize that maybe a real friend is all Neville needs to help boost his confidence. As well as some encouragement from others, especially the teachers.**

**Hope you guys liked this one. Please let me know what you guys thought and I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible. I've been writing other stories on the side and have decided not to post any others until they are finished. That will save me a lot of headaches. But it also takes time away from this one a bit. But I'm trying. Also, before I forget, in one of my stories, the main character is apartment shopping but I need ideas. Does anyone have any ideas on the description of an apartment for a single male, in his late twenties to early thirties, with a large dog and a six year old daughter? Take into consideration school locations, the commute, surrounding buildings, etcetera. Thanks.**


	17. Snape & The Boggart

**A/N: Wow, so many people actually voted. I wasn't sure if anyone would or not. But I checked regularly and I was pleased with what I saw. Last I checked 85% wished for me to allow the shinigami to influence the storyline in some way and 15% wished for me to leave it as is. One person placed their vote through review for technical reasons, and two others sent theirs through PM and just told me to do what I want and do what is easier for me. But to make sure I didn't stray to far from the whole "Prisoner of Azkaban" theme, which I have no intention of doing. Well, popular vote wins, so I will start letting the shinigami influence the other characters and change things around a bit for the storyline. Mostly it will be the shinigami influencing the HP character into taking different actions from what they normally would and giving them bigger roles, especially Neville and maybe a few other differences but you'll just have to wait and see. However, certain things, like Sirius escaping with Buckbeak and Lupin being revealed to Harry and gang will remain the same. There will just be other things happening at the same time since we already know what's supposed to happen. We'll see. But the influencing will start being introduced in the middle of this chapter or so.**

**BOGGARTS ARE HERE! The time has come. It took me nearly forever to get this down. The reason this chapter took me so long is because I was so nit picky about the boggart scene. I wrote this scene over and over and over and I'm still not entirely satisfied. I couldn't think of how to introduce the shinigami's boggarts and how the students would react and all that. Not wholly pleased with this but hopefully I did okay. I'll let you guys be the judges. Sorry for the long a/n.**

**Disclaimers blah blah blah**

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**Chapter Seventeen: Snape & the Boggart**

Toshiro woke just before five in the morning, quietly crept out of bed, and began pulling on a pair of muggle jeans and one of the zip-up sweaters Rangiku had made for each of them. He briefly glanced down at the jagged teal ice dragon on his own opened navy blue sweater, admiring the way the tail started on one side of the zip-line at his abdomen, curved around his side, performed a loose diagonal corkscrew across his back, showering the back with jagged ice shards along the way, and curved over the opposite shoulder to rest its head across his chest on the other side of the zip-line, almost protectively so. He had to hand it to her; she really outdid herself this time.

Then he walked between Ichigo and Renji's beds and pulled back the curtains to each. Both boys were already sitting up, their shadowy silhouettes rubbing their eyes sleepily in the predawn light. "Let's go." He whispered to them as he stepped back and began pulling on his shoes. "We need to do this now, while we have the privacy."

"Tell me again why we didn't do this during break yesterday like we had planned." Ichigo mumbled as he rolled out of bed and began searching around in his trunk for clothes.

"Because we didn't have the time or privacy." Toshiro answered quietly. "Now that the students are all asleep, and there are no classes today, there won't be any eavesdroppers. Now move it. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can all go back to sleep. Let's go."

Renji and Ichigo grumbled softly as they pulled on their shoes and sweaters, Ichigo not bothering to change his sweats and wife-beater as he threw on his charcoal-grey sweater with a large shiny silver sword running brightly down along his spine and a red sash spiraling loosely around the blade like a red cyclone, curving from the tip of the blade around his sides, crossing the front to curve over the opposite shoulders, creating a thick red 'X' across the front, and meeting back at the top of the cyclone just above the hilt underneath his hood.

Renji threw on his own sweater, the back split in half with one side black and the other a dark scarlet. On the black side, the entire hindquarters of a large white gorilla, from its large furry waist to it's stubby white tail, was plastered on one side of his back, the tail almost touching the line separating black from red. The large white gorilla curled around his side to the front, standing on its front legs with a menacing frown on its hollow-eyed face, its body facing the zip-line. On the scarlet side, the massive body of a gleaming silver snake looped loosely across the red background of the sweater, wrapping its shiny thick body around his other side to the front, its black tongue protruding from its opened mouth, the sharp white fangs almost glinting threateningly, and its hollow eyes adding to the silent threat as it faced the gorilla. On the back of the sweater, the top half of a shiny silver blade protruded from the bottom of his sweater and rested along the line dividing the red from the black, a soft silver mist floating from the tip to separate into two tendrils that began forming the legs of the gorilla and the tail of the snake. Renji had been pleased to see that Rangiku even remembered to decorate the bodies of both animals with the intricate tattoos that decorated his own body and top of his face, currently covered by a white bandana.

Renji and Ichigo continued to grumble as they finally finished getting ready, Renji quietly complaining about Kurotsuchi making their gigais require sleep. The three of them silently crept out of the dorm, down to the common room, and then out through the portrait hole and into the corridors. The fat lady in the portrait, Toshiro noticed with a frown, did not even stir in her sleep as the portrait swung back in place. Not good, safety wise. That needed fixing.

The three of them ambled down corridors, up and down flights of stairs until they arrived outside a door with a shadowy silhouette of a clueless-looking statue standing beside it, it's stone hand frozen in the act of scratching its bald head in puzzlement. Toshiro pushed the door open and led the way in, pleased to see that Rangiku and Rukia were already there. Rangiku yawned widely as she lounged in an overstuffed armchair, wearing a light pink sweater over the pale blue overlarge t-shirt that went down to her knees and a pair of matching light pink and blue sleep pants. From what Toshiro remembered from when she showed it to him, her sweater bore the head of a human-faced cat on back, made from the fine silvery powder of ash, its large almond shaped eyes glinting mischievously in the soft daylight of his and Harry's bedroom back in the Leaky Cauldron and its furry cat ears protruding from its head of human hair. A hot pink sash looped over the cat's head and wrapped around her lower sides and up the front, criss-crossing and curling to form the outline of a small hot pink heart directly where her own heart would be when zipped up.

Rukia dozed on a stack of pillows beside her, with her back facing them and the side of her head leaning against the side of the armchair, wearing one of Ichigo's sister's yellow and black plaid pajamas. A soft robin's egg blue sweater was wrapped tightly around her petit body, the entire bottom border of her sweater covered in a layer of white, like snow, with a single white ribbon weaving exotically across her back, intricate patterns forming through the silvery-white snowfall decorating the blue background. The ends of the ribbons, if Toshiro remembered correctly, met in front above her abdomen, forming a neat white bow just beneath her breasts when the sweater was zipped up, the tails trailing down to disappear in the snow at the bottom.

"Mah-morning, Taicho." Rangiku said around another large yawn. "Too early, but morning just the same." She gently tapped Rukia on the head, startling her awake.

Rangiku stood up and offered her chair to Toshiro, who sat in it and peered around at the others, all of them struggling to stay awake as they sat on stacks of pillows, though Ichigo seemed to be having better luck than the others. If they were having this much trouble staying awake for about an hour or two, then it was going to be very problematic when the time came for them to start patrolling the grounds all night, every night. Perhaps they could sleep in shifts and let their bodies get used to the routine. Toshiro glanced at them again before speaking. "For right now, this meeting is in regards to our zanpakuto, as I'm sure you might have guessed. I received a message from Captain Ukitake yesterday morning, who has informed me of Sou-taicho's answer in regards to keeping our zanpakuto on us at all times. I'm sure you agree that it is unnerving being away from them for any length of time. Sou-taicho has informed Captain Kurotsuchi of a complex spell which can, if done properly, merge our swords with our wands."

Renji perked up. "Really? I can have Zabimaru in my wand?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, but there are drawbacks. One, the power of our zanpakuto will also merge with the power our wands themselves have and will cause different effects to our spell casting than most people. We'll have to take extra care that we pay attention to the spells we are performing, making sure we do it as right as possible; there could be disastrous consequences otherwise. Two, there will be times when the spirits of our zanpakuto will want to take over the wands. Let them. Forcing them apart will magically snap your wand in half, cutting off the magic of the wand itself. And three, the spell is very complicated and will need to be performed with the utmost care until you get the hang of it. The way the spell works is that our sword will be merged in with our wand, becoming one magical item with the soul of our zanpakuto inside the wand. However, when we decide to change out of our gigais, our sword will sort of split away from the wand the same way; we just need to have our wand in our hand at the time. When we remerge with our gigais, our wands will also remerge with our sword. However, if we want our sword while still in our gigais, we need to perform the counter spell that will separate the two and recast the spell when we are ready to remerge them again. Understand so far?"

"So what you're saying," Ichigo started slowly. "Is that when we first start, we cast this spell and it will merge our wand with our zanpakuto. Then, every time we go Soul Reaper, our wands sort of 'go Soul Reaper' as well and spit out our swords the same way our gigais spit out our Soul Reaper bodies, right?" Toshiro nodded and Ichigo continued. "And then when we go back into the gigais, our swords go back into the wands with no problem. But if we want to make our swords 'go Soul Reaper' while we are still in our gigais, we'll need to do the spell that will manually separate them and then do the first spell to manually put them together again when we're finished. And the entire time we do this, our wands need to be in our gigais hand. Does that about cover it?"

"Basically, yes." Toshiro answered with a nod. "And our wands will have both the power of itself _and_ the power of our zanpakuto, so try to be careful. If your sword doesn't want to obey you for some reason, odds are your wand won't want to either. Also, be very careful about where you leave your wand. It could be very dangerous for a human, or anyone other than you, to handle _your_ zanpakuto. Don't let anyone else use it. I'll inform the headmaster of this decision, which, Ukitake-taicho has informed me, he already knows about. He doesn't know what we've decided yet, but he does know about this spell because he and Sou-taicho came up with it together. Kurotsuchi-taicho is currently working on testing this spell with replicas, making sure it won't damage our zanpakuto in any way. Once we get the all clear, we'll come back here and have a drill on performing the spell until we can do it with ease. Any questions?"

They all shook their heads and Toshiro nodded. "Good. Now for our next bit of news: Security. We will be starting security soon, once we get a rendezvous date settled with Urahara's group, and we'll decide how to do this. Right now, we're in a bit of trouble. You seem to be having trouble staying awake for the little time we're spending with this meeting. If this is how much trouble sleep is going to cause for us, we'll have some major issues. We can't afford to fall asleep on watch. I'm thinking shifts. We'll all merge into one big group with Urahara's and then split off into smaller groups, possibly two large ones. One group will stay awake when everyone else goes to bed and, once the coast is clear, will separate into three-fourths and the large group will patrol the grounds while the smaller assists the teachers in patrolling the inside of the castle. Then at a certain time in the night, probably half way somewhere, we'll switch off with the sleeping crew and repeat. That gives everyone a chance to sleep and still do their part in the patrols. Understand?"

"Isn't there some kind of potion or something that can keep us awake? And allow us to feel at least somewhat rested when we're finished?" Rukia asked. "That might help."

Toshiro nodded in approval. "You're right, it would. I'll speak to the Potions Master about that. I believe he's Professor Snape, if I remember the rumors correctly. The unpleasant man we met the other night with the shoulder-length slick black hair. He should have something to help. Unfortunately, I don't think Kurotsuchi can do anything about our gigais needing too much sleep without actually being here in person. And he might not be able to resist experimenting on someone if he comes here in person."

"Now that that's settled, there's one last thing. This new class of Urahara's." Toshiro rolled his eyes. "For some reason, he's going to be teaching a Kido class."

"Kido?" cried Rukia in astonishment.

"Why Kido?" Rangiku asked with mild surprise. "Isn't that risky? For us and for the students?"

Toshiro shrugged. "I honestly haven't the slightest idea what he's thinking. All I know is that he's going to be having an exercising class on Fridays, exercising the mind, body and spiritual pressure. And then on Saturdays, it will be a sort of practical, where he will teach people to use Kido. He'll also be training people to use a sort of wandless magic, allowing them to channel their spiritual energy into a solid object, sort of like how we do with our swords but obviously not with zanpakuto. We're all to attend these classes and the students of this school have the option of attending. It's for all ages, since it's only for this school year. He'll explain more on Friday, during our first lesson." He looked around at the room, seeing sleep returning to their faces now that the meeting was coming to a close. "We can return to our beds now."

The shinigami stood up, stretched, and began heading to the door, intending to get as much sleep as possible before they had to get up for breakfast, then maybe another small lie-in somewhere before lunch. Toshiro returned to his dorm with Ichigo and Renji, re-changed into his sleep clothes, and crawled back into bed, shoving Suna aside from where she had claimed the center of his pillow after he had left. Then he settled back down and allowed sleep to retake him.

* * *

Later that morning, after breakfast, Toshiro sat with Hermione in the corner they had been in the other night, both of them pouring over a book in their laps and occasionally writing on a long sheet of parchment, neither of them speaking much except for the occasional question from Hermione. Neville climbed through the portrait hole at the same time that Harry and Ron descended the stairs from the boys' dormitory, and headed for the corner. Neville sat down beside Toshiro as he had the previous night and peered down at the book in his lap. "Muggle Studies?" he read questioningly.

"When did you go to Muggle studies?" he asked Toshiro.

"Yesterday." Toshiro answered as he continued to read the page, jotting things down as he went.

"When?" Neville asked in confusion. "Yesterday was just Divination, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures. And your Arithmancy class, apparently. When did you go to Muggle Studies?"

"After Arithmancy." Toshiro said absently, rapidly flipping pages in his book, first forwards and then backwards before he found the page he wanted. He looked up at Hermione. "I found that page about ink pens the professor was talking about. It's on page nineteen, third paragraph." Immediately Hermione began leafing through her book until she found the page and began reading.

"How could you have gone after Arithmancy?" Ron asked in bewilderment. "You wouldn't have had time. You said you had Arithmancy after Divination. But we barely had time to get from North Tower to McGonagall's classroom. There wouldn't have been time."

Toshiro paused in the action of shifting from pouring over his book to writing on his parchment and looked up at Ron with a frown. "No, I didn't. I never said anything about any of that. You asked if I had Arithmancy with Hermione. I said I do. You asked if I had gone, I said I have. You asked how, and I basically said none of your business. End of story. Nowhere in there did I say, or even hint at what time I had the class. And as for how I attended my Muggle Studies class, I will say it more bluntly if you'd like: None of your business." And with that he returned to his homework, ignoring their confused and questioning glances.

Finally Neville shrugged. "Well, as long as you guys don't over exert yourselves with this workload, I guess there's really nothing to worry about. But just remember that we do have several other classes besides what we just had. Not to mention Astronomy at midnight on Thursdays and that new class on Fridays and Saturdays."

"I haven't forgotten." Toshiro mumbled. "And that's why you should really make sure you want to take this class before taking it. You already enrolled, didn't you?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah, I already turned my slip in to Professor McGonagall."

Hermione sighed and looked up. "How can you concentrate and talk so normally at the same time?" she asked Toshiro both in exasperation and astonishment.

Toshiro shrugged. "Rangiku hates working. She'd rather party or drink until she's so drunk that she has an excuse not to work. And then she's constantly trying to get others to stop working and join her because she's bored. If you can ignore _her_ and not get distracted with _her_ around, then everyone else, and everything else, is a piece of cake."

Hermione opened her mouth in a silent o of shock. "W-what?" she sputtered. The others gaped at him, just as shocked. "She drinks? And she tries to get you guys to drink? But you're too young."

"Not that young." Toshiro said, offended.

"But there's no way the drinking limit in Japan is thirteen and up." She protested. "Fifteen, maybe. Sixteen, a little more likely. But thirteen? Fourteen? That's way too young."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "We're a bit more responsible than children here, I'm sure. Besides, sake is the only thing most people drink, though sometimes people drink imported stuff and some create their own concoctions. And I don't usually, because being under the influence while working isn't exactly wise. Plus there are some countries where they serve children wine instead of water because the water is so foul."

"But still –" Hermione started.

"Look, what does it matter what we do or not?" Toshiro snapped irritably. "It's not hurting you, is it? Frankly, it's none of your business. What we do is up to us. End of story. So I would appreciate it if you didn't go prying into our personal lives. In case you hadn't noticed, we _like_ our privacy. And other people digging through it, especially _gaijin*_, is just plain rude."

There was a moment of silence, Hermione turning pink and the four of them looking sheepish. Then Neville asked, "What's _guy-jean_?"

"_Gaijin_, spelled g-a-i-j-i-n, roughly translates to mean _foreigner_." Toshiro said a bit more calmly, returning to his homework.

"Oh. But aren't you guys the foreigners?" Neville asked. He blushed as Toshiro looked up at him. "I mean, you know, you guys are in _our_ country, so doesn't that make you guys the foreigners and us the … the natives, or something?"

Toshiro nodded. "In a way, yes. But if you think about it, you are just as foreign to us as we are to you. And in case you hadn't noticed, I don't ask a lot of questions about your personal lives."

Hermione nodded and returned to her homework, while Ron and Harry decided to play a game of wizard chess, and Neville watched from the sidelines, declaring he'd play winner. After a few moments of peace, Hermione looked up. "I still can't seem to find the book's article about why quills are better than muggle pens."

"It's not on _that_ page." Toshiro answered as if this were obvious. "The differences between a pen and a quill are on that page but the debate itself is on page twelve."

Hermione blinked. "Why didn't you say so before?"

Toshiro shrugged with a tantalizing smirk. "That wasn't what you had asked. You asked for the page the teacher had been speaking about in class; I gave it." His smirk deepened. "If you wanted the page that would answer the homework questions, you should have said so."

Hermione huffed irritably and began shifting through her book to the page she needed.

* * *

The rest of the week passed until Thursday rolled around, starting the day off with double Potions. Toshiro headed down to the dungeons with Neville walking beside him, who looked as though he were heading to his own funeral. Up ahead, Ichigo and Renji were speaking animatedly with a boy from their dorm about the muggle sport, soccer. Toshiro glanced behind him, spotting Harry, Ron and Hermione several feet back, the three of them looking almost as unhappy about today's class as Neville, who obviously wished he were heading in the opposite direction.

"I guess it's safe to assume this is your favorite class?" Toshiro asked mildly.

Neville glared at him, though halfheartedly. "Very funny." He muttered bitterly. "I hate Potions. I suck at it. I screw up so bad sometimes. Sometimes it's just a small mess up that doesn't get noticed but other times, I fall to pieces, especially around Professor Snape. I can't even remember how many times I blew up my own cauldron in my first year, not to mention the once or twice that I blew up someone else's. You probably shouldn't sit next to me. I might destroy your cauldron or your potion or even you in general."

"I'll take my chances. It can't be as bad as the numerous explosive pranks Rangiku played on the entire off-…classroom back home." Toshiro said, hoping Neville didn't catch the almost slip up. He had been about to say office instead of classroom. "Even the other teachers know who to blame first if something unusual and prank-ish happens to them."

Neville smirked, temporarily taking away the worried frown. "And you being her babysitter, that makes you responsible."

Toshiro scowled, though glad to have been successful in taking away Neville's worry for the time being. "You have no idea. People are always coming up to me and asking why I haven't tightened her leash yet. And let me tell you, it is very troublesome when trying to get work done and my desk suddenly becomes a hiding place while she's hiding from her latest angry victim."

Neville chuckled but stopped almost immediately when he spotted the crowd outside the classroom door, waiting for the door to open and allow them in. "I still don't want to be here. But I'll get in so much trouble if I ditch. I don't think anyone _has_ ditched before. At least not in any of _our_ classes."

The two of them waited about five more minutes before the door finally opened and the class poured themselves inside, everyone heading to their personally designated seats. Neville headed to his seat with Toshiro sitting beside him at the same table. Beside them, Hermione had taken a seat beside a Gryffindor girl Toshiro had seen once in the common room but didn't know the name of. Two tables over and one back, Harry and Ron sat and began setting up their cauldrons, while Ichigo and Renji parted from soccer boy and sat one column over from Toshiro and Neville and two rows back, diagonal from Harry's.

Professor Snape informed them on the potion they were to be making and informed the transfers of the zero tolerance for horseplay. The class silently began working, preparing their cauldrons while they chopped and sliced their ingredients. About an hour later, Draco Malfoy entered the classroom, stretching the wounded soldier act just a tad too far, in Toshiro's opinion. Toshiro rolled his eyes and turned back to his potion, pointedly ignoring Draco and his little charade, the Slytherin girl simpering pitifully at him. He and Neville turned around at the sound of a heavy thump, followed by quiet snickering.

Draco picked himself off the floor with a frown and glared at Ichigo, who made a show of pulling his foot back under the table. Draco whirled around and faced the front. "Professor! He just tripped me!" Draco said with indignation, pointing a finger at Ichigo.

"Professor." Ichigo mocked in a whiny voice, faking wiping away tears with balled fists. "This mean bully t-tripped me! Boo hoo hoo!" Renji snickered from beside him. Ichigo glared up at Draco. "You're such a crybaby. Tattletale."

Draco glared daggers at him but Snape headed swiftly towards them, stopping to tower in front of Ichigo and Renji's table. "Five points from Gryffindor for each of you for bullying another student."

"Like I care." Ichigo scoffed. "I don't get the importance of these stupid points anyways. Take your stupid points. No skin off my bones."

Renji punched his shoulders. "Not yet, idiot."

"Another five points for fighting." Snape said coldly. He glared down at Ichigo. "And detention for you."

Ichigo surprisingly perked up at this news and turned to Renji with a triumphant smile. "I win! Hand 'em over!" He held out his hand, which Renji filled with five gold galleons from inside his pocket with a scowl.

"You cheated." Renji accused with a pout. "You didn't say we could antagonize the teachers like that."

"I didn't give any rules." Ichigo said with a chuckle as he counted the galleons. "I just said the first one of us to get a detention gets five galleons from the other. I got a detention first, so…" Ichigo picked up two of the galleons and held them up to Snape. "Want your cut?"

"'Cut'?" Renji demanded, looking from Ichigo's smirking face to Snape's furious one. "You mean he was in on it? That's cheating!"

"Of course he wasn't in on it." Ichigo said in a bored tone. "It's no fun if it's not genuine."

"Enough!" Snape snapped furiously. "Detention for both of you and another five points each for gambling! And if you keep this up, I'll take off a round fifty. Now get to work!"

Ichigo smirked and flipped his middle finger to Snape's retreating back. Renji felt eyes on him and glanced in Toshiro's direction, only to cough uncomfortably at the disapproving stare and glanced away. Ichigo followed his gaze and met Toshiro's now exasperated look with a 'so what' look of his own. Draco sat down at the table in front of Ichigo and Renji's and beside Harry and Ron's. Ichigo noticed that Harry glanced back to him and smiled in amusement. Ichigo grinned back.

Neville turned to Toshiro as they got back to work. "I can't believe Ichigo just did that. No one ever talks to Professor Snape like that. What was he thinking?"

Toshiro turned in his seat before he could answer, shooting a warning look at Ichigo and Renji as Snape just ordered Ron to cut Draco's daisy roots. Ichigo gave an inaudible sigh and rolled his eyes but refrained from speaking. Then he turned back to Neville. "Obviously he wasn't thinking. But I can sort of understand why he tripped Draco in the first place. And keep an eye on your potion!" he hissed. Neville jumped and glanced down at his potion in time to lower the flames.

They both turned around again when Draco called out. "Weasley's mutilating my roots."

"Here we go again." Ichigo muttered loud enough for the class to hear. "Nag, nag, nag. You are such a crybaby. I'm going to start calling you Crybaby from now on."

"Shut up!" Draco snapped angrily.

"Another five points, Kurosaki." Snape said sharply. "Weasley, trade roots with Malfoy."

Toshiro sighed and turned to continue to work on his potion but stopped at a glance at Neville's. "What did you do?" He demanded quietly.

Neville turned his attention away from Ichigo and turned to his potion, going pale when he saw it. "Oh, no." he whimpered. "What happened? I thought I followed everything right."

"Apparently not." Toshiro said with a frown. What had Neville done? Toshiro had been watching him, trying to see just what was supposedly making Neville so bad a potions that he would dread coming here. He hadn't done anything wrong so far, except near the beginning, when he had been so nervous after Snape passed their table that his hand shook violently and he poured too much leech juice. Other than that, there hadn't been any other mistakes that he saw. _Could it have been something I hadn't seen? Like when we were distracted?_

Before he could ponder the subject further, Snape was upon them, sneering down at Neville's potion, which was orange instead of green. Toshiro noticed that Neville was starting to tremble terribly and Toshiro had a sudden feeling he knew exactly why Neville was so bad in Potions. Snape picked up the ladle and scooped some of the potion up and let it splash back into the cauldron.

"Orange, Longbottom." Snape said. "Tell me, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours?" Toshiro narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists under the table at the verbal abuse. "Didn't you hear me say only one rat spleen?" _Rat spleen? When had he added that?_ "Didn't I state that a _dash_ of leech juice would suffice?" _That was your fault, Snape._ "What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Toshiro glanced at Neville, who was flushed and shaking like a human earthquake. He was biting his trembling bottom lip and Toshiro had a sinking feeling that Neville was about to cry. What the hell was this teacher's problem? Did he not realize that _his presence_ was what was making Neville so nervous that he was making simple mistakes? Did he not realize that a little encouragement can actually go a long way?

"Please, sir." Hermione said softly. "I could help Neville put it right."

"I don't need you showing off, Miss Granger." Snape said coldly. He turned back to Neville, who looked about ready to run from the room. "At the end of class, Longbottom, we're going to test your potion on your toad. Maybe that will teach you to do it right."

Neville whimpered as Snape moved away. He turned to Hermione. "Help me." He said fearfully.

"No." Toshiro hissed to the both of them. Hermione looked up at him and Neville turned a hurt look on him.

"Please." He said desperately. "I can't-"

"Yes, you can." Toshiro said encouragingly. He'll show this teacher what a little encouragement can do. "Just stop for a moment. Take a few deep breaths. Now, think back. Think about what you did and how to fix it. You _can_ fix it yourself. Just be confident."

"But Snape-" Neville moaned fearfully.

"Forget about him." Toshiro snapped. "He's not making the potion, you are. This is all you. You want him to leave you alone? Prove to him that you're not as incompetent as he claims you to be. That fear you have of him. Turn it into anger. Then turn that anger into determination. Channel that into your potion. Show him that you have just as much right to be in this class, to make a potion, as he or anyone else. Block him out. Block out the entire class. Pay close attention to your potion and your thoughts. You can do it. I know you can. The only times you made a mistake were when you weren't looking and when he passed our table. Block him out."

Neville blinked at him a couple of times before slowly nodding. Then his nods became more firm and a new, determined look flashed through Neville's eyes and he turned back to his potion with an air of someone on a mission. Toshiro nodded and continued working on his own potion, mentally keeping an eye on Neville as he worked, a bit shakily but indomitably. Several minutes passed, neither Toshiro nor Neville speaking to each other the entire time, before Snape spoke again.

"You should be finished adding your ingredients by now." He called. "Clear your things away while your potion simmers and then we'll test Longbottom's and see if it is…edible."

Neville suddenly seemed to come back to normal, nearly deflating as he continued to stir his potion. Hermione watched worriedly as she too began packing away her things. Toshiro packed his things and began packing Neville's as he watched. He stood up and headed towards the sink to rinse off their tools, and waited in line while Harry and Ron rinsed theirs in front of him.

"What was Malfoy talking about?" Harry asked Ron as they rinsed their hands. "Why would I want to get revenge on Black?"

Toshiro snapped his head from Neville's direction to the pair in front of him. _Revenge? For what?_ "He's trying to make you do something stupid." Ron said. _It's likely._ Harry and Ron left the sink and Toshiro quickly squeezed his way in and rinsed his and Neville's tools and his hands before making his way back to their table.

"Gather around." Snape called. "We'll now test Longbottom's potion. If he's done it correctly, the _Shrinking Potion_ should turn his toad into a tadpole. If he's screwed it up, as is most likely, his toad will be poisoned and he'll have to look for a new pet." Several Slytherins snickered. Toshiro watched from behind Neville as Snape picked up Neville's toad and fed it several large gulps of the potion. Everyone watched expectantly, Toshiro placing the fingertips of his right hand against the small of Neville's trembling back for support and felt Neville shift his weight to lean slightly against them, welcoming the support.

There was a small pop and suddenly Neville's toad was now a tadpole. The Gryffindors cheered and Toshiro gave a small, approving smile, moving his hand from Neville's back to his shoulder. Their celebration was short lived, however, as Snape poured a few droplets of a potion from his pocket onto the tadpole, making it turn back into a toad, set it on the table and said, "Five points from Gryffindor. I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."

Ichigo and Renji made to object but Toshiro silenced them with a shake of his head, the look he wore stopping whatever they were going to say in their throats. They nodded, having a strong feeling that he would take care of it, and quickly followed the other students out the door. Toshiro stayed where he was, his hand still on Neville's shoulder, firmly holding him in place. Neville looked fearfully at Toshiro, who stared with narrow eyes at Snape.

Snape looked up from behind his desk and took in the two remaining students. "I said class was dismissed. I don't know if that means anything in your country, but here, that means leave." He said coldly. "And Longbottom, I know the simplest of instructions is extremely difficult for you but even you should understand what it means when the rest of the class starts leaving."

Neville made to stand but Toshiro's hand wouldn't budge, holding him down on his stool. Neville looked at him again. Toshiro glared at Snape. "We're not leaving." He said in a low voice. "Not until you give back the points you took from him."

"What are you doing?" Neville squeaked, gaping at him in horror.

Toshiro ignored him, his teal eyes never leaving Snape's beady black ones. "Neville did not get assistance from Granger, as you unjustly assumed. He did it on his own."

"I find that hard to believe." Snape sneered.

"I was sitting right here." Toshiro said. "I watched him. He didn't make a single error. Because I told him not to. Did you never realize that just about every time he makes a blunder, it's when you are near? Your presence terrifies him. I thought he was being too timid because you're intimidating. But then I witnessed you verbally abusing him, belittling him, in front of the entire class. That was completely uncalled for and extremely childish."

Neville's eyes widened and Snape leaped to his feet, his eyes flashing dangerously. "How dare you speak to me that way?" he said icily. "Just who do you think you're talking to?"

"A bully of a man who belittles children for his own sick pleasure." Toshiro answered, his voice matching Snape's. "Neville did absolutely nothing wrong other than let himself get too flustered whenever you were around, which caused him to make mistakes. But _I_, who have hardly any teaching experience whatsoever, merely _**encouraged**_ him, and let him know that with a little motivation and a lot of faith, he could do just as well as the rest of the class, if he could only learn to block out you and your snide remarks. And he did. Have you ever even _seen_ a spark of determination in his eyes? Or is it only fear? Ever wonder why that is? Have you ever bothered to ask any of his other teachers about his performance in their class? What about Herbology? I heard he's very good in that class. Doesn't Herbology coincide with potions in some sense? You need plants as some ingredients in potions, do you not? So why is it that Neville has such a hard time with Potions but not Herbology?"

Neville trembled under Toshiro's hand and Snape's icy glare, waiting with baited breath and almost feeling the temperature drop. He felt as though he were in the middle of a battlefield, both sides waiting for the other to make the first move. He was afraid he'd get caught in the crossfire. He wasn't sure which he felt more afraid of at the moment. All he knew was that at that moment, all he wished was that he could be anywhere else. Anywhere was safer.

"Allow him to be tested." Toshiro suddenly said.

Neville finally broke free of Toshiro's hold on his shoulder and whirled around. "What, no!" he cried in pure terror but Toshiro was pleased to see that Snape's interest had been peeked.

"Next class," Toshiro said, ignoring Neville's silent plea to let it go. "Stick him in a room, by himself, no books, no students and no you lurking unpleasantly over his shoulder. Just him, his cauldron, his ingredients and the instructions for the potion he's to make. If he's able to make the potion by himself with little to no problem by the end of the lesson, you give him back the five points you unjustly took and you start treating him like a human being. That doesn't mean you have to like him. It just means stop talking to him like he's an idiot. But if he fails, you can take ten points away from each of us, give us each a detention, and do or say whatever you like during class and I'll bite my tongue. Your choice."

Both Neville and Snape stared at him in shock, looking at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted a second head. Neville felt a clenching in his chest. No one had ever showed so much faith in him before. No one had ever tried to help him, to stick up for him, tried to defend him against Snape. No one had ever tried to show that he wasn't an idiot. That he could do the work if he wasn't afraid or flustered. No one had ever been this nice to him. Why? Why was Toshiro, a kid he'd hardly known, defending him so vehemently? Why was he so determined to prove the good in Neville? What was in it for him?

Snape was silent for a moment, pondering, before asking coolly, "And if I choose neither?"

Toshiro narrowed his eyes to slits. "Then I'll go to your headmaster and let him know one of his teachers is verbally abusing his student in the middle of class for the amusement of himself and his Slytherin third years. I don't know how it is here, but where I come from, abuse of any kind on a child is strictly frowned upon. Whether your people accept it or not, I will not tolerate it. I will not sit back and watch it happen. I have the good graces to confront you on the subject outside of class. Neville won't say anything if I ask him not to. However, if you'd like me to go public, I will."

Snape glared daggers at Toshiro, completely ignoring Neville for the time being. Then, finally, he spoke. "Very well. I'll find a suitable potion that Longbottom can do and next class, he can try to make it on his own. And I will take your deal and hold you to it. To a 'T'."

Toshiro nodded firmly. "Good. Then it's a deal." He turned to Neville. "I have one more thing I need to speak to him about. Mind waiting outside?" Neville nodded numbly, picked up his bag and headed out the door. As soon as the door had shut behind him, Toshiro pulled out his wand and cast a silencing spell on the door. Then he turned back to Snape and began speaking in a calmer voice, as if their little conversation had never happened. "I wanted to let you know what we're planning."

Snape moved to stand in front of his desk and leaned back against it, his arms crossed over his chest. "By 'we', I'm assuming you mean you and your soul catcher friends?"

Toshiro nodded, not bothering to correct him on the term. "Yes. Once the school goes full swing, we'll start security surveillance. We're planning on merging forces with you teachers. We'll merge both my team and Urahara's team and divide that in half. One half will sleep for a certain length of time while the other half splits up. A large amount of us will patrol the grounds, from the edge of the forest and the lake, up to the outside walls of the school. The smaller amount of us will assist teachers on inside patrolling. Then, at a specific time, we'll switch with the sleeping crew and repeat the actions."

Snape considered this. "What about the Dementors? I heard you lot fall extremely ill when they're around."

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, that's true. These Dementors eat souls and we're pure souls, just inside a suit, so to speak. Whatever it is they do, it drains us of our energy. I've already written to my boss and he'll get back to me when they've found a solution. However, I'm also letting you know that we'll be out of bed again Sunday night. We found a spell, created by our _headmaster_ and yours, which will merge our swords with our wands. This will help us greatly, mostly because our swords have a soul of their own. Their souls basically merged with ours in a sense and not having them with us is like having half of ourselves gone. Normally we can walk around with our swords just fine while in our gigais. But for some reason, our swords can be seen by the living, which shouldn't be possible but is. I think it has something to do with this school, or the environment, being full of magic and all. But this spell will help with that."

"I see." Snape said thoughtfully. "Very well. I'll relay the news to the headmaster. That all?"

Toshiro nodded. "For now."

Snape gave a curt nod. "Then go." He said and turned back to his desk, signaling the end of the discussion. Toshiro frowned before picking up his bag and heading out the door, removing the silencing spell just before he opened it, and walked out.

* * *

In the Great Hall, word had spread about Ichigo and Renji betting each other to get a detention first and Ichigo purposefully antagonizing Snape in order to receive a detention, including mocking Malfoy. Said boy was no longer parading around like a war hero. Now, he was sulking at the Slytherin table, glaring in the direction of the Gryffindor table, and two Gryffindors in particular. How dare they make a mockery of Draco Malfoy? The Malfoys were the purest and most superior of bloodlines, and that meant the utmost respect was required when in their presence. So where did these transfer brats get off calling him a crybaby? Mocking him, making fun of him, making him look stupid? How dare they?

Draco bit into the sandwich he was eating, chewing angrily as he spotted a certain white haired boy. Yes, it all came back to him. _He_ was the influence. He was the one the others seemed to respond to. Draco wasn't stupid. He'd seen the way the others treated him. They treated him with respect, even if that transfer prat, Kurosaki, teased him a lot and acted like he didn't care. They treated him like…like…like a Malfoy! They were treating the kid how they should be treating _him_! But why? Why was this kid so special? What had he done that made the others respect him so?

"Draco, how's your arm?" Pansy asked in concern.

Draco turned to her. "It's fine." He said tersely.

Pansy followed his gaze as he turned back to glare at Toshiro. "Ooh, you're thinking of a way to get back at the transfers, aren't you? For mistreating a Malfoy? You're planning something good, aren't you?" Pansy looked at him with excited expectation. "I can't wait to see it."

"What are you planning?" Crabbe asked. "What are you going to do?"

"I think you should go for the white haired kid." Blaise Zabini said from the other side of Crabbe, eyeing Toshiro suspiciously. "I don't know. He just strikes me as the one in charge, you know? I bet if you get **him**, the others will be a piece of cake."

"Ooh, make an example of him, Draco." Pansy encouraged excitedly. "Show him who really runs this school." The others nodded eagerly at him.

Yes. That's just what he was planning on doing. Take out the leader and the rest will follow like lambs to the slaughter. Perfect. Only question was: how to get the kid unawares? He seemed always one step ahead of everyone else. He always seems to keep his cool. But he had to slip up sometime. Draco just had to wait for the opportune moment. He could do that.

* * *

After lunch, the Gryffindor third years headed up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, mildly surprised to find that Professor Lupin had yet to show. Neville sat himself down beside Toshiro, who immediately wandered to a seat in the front, right next to the window. Neville turned to him as they began taking their things out of their bags in preparation for class. "You really like windows, don't you?" he asked.

Toshiro shrugged. "Not so much the window as is the outside. I hate being hot. A certain amount of warmth is fine but too much is just too much for me. I'm not saying I'd go wandering around in zero degree weather or anything like that, but I wouldn't mind having the window open every now and then."

Just then, Professor Lupin strode into the room, looking much healthier than he had on the train, Toshiro noticed with an interested look. That was good. He was hoping all the professor needed was a few good meals in his system, instead of actually being sick, as he had looked. He didn't think a sick professor would be safe to teach spells. What if he sneezed in the middle of an incantation and set the room on fire?

"Good afternoon." He said pleasantly, smiling kindly at each of them. "Would you please put all of your books and supplies back in your bags? All you will be needing is your wand, since today's lesson will be a practical. Now please follow me." Then he turned and left the room, the rest of the class standing up and following him. He led them down corridors, passed several paintings and suits of armor, and stopped in the middle of a corridor occupied by what was unmistakably a ghost.

This was the first time any of the shinigami had seen a ghost here in the castle, despite the earlier comment of the ghosts being almost everywhere. Toshiro narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the ghost, which was currently stuffing gum into the keyhole of a door. This ghost looked much different than the ones back home. For one, he was silvery and looked much like a stereotypical ghost, except without the floaty tail. The ghosts back home maintained the appearance of how they looked when they were alive, including their skin color, though they were more transparent than their living selves. For another, he had neither a chain attached to his chest nor a hole where one aught to be. Nor had he been turned into a hollow or eaten by one.

"That's Peeves." Neville whispered, misinterpreting Toshiro's puzzled look. "He's a poltergeist. He haunts the school and always causing trouble and mischief. Filch, the caretaker, is practically at war with him and constantly trying to catch Peeves so he can get him kicked out of the school. The only one able to control him besides the teachers and the headmaster is another ghost, named The Bloody Baron."

"That's the Slytherin ghost, right?" Ichigo said from behind them. He and Renji both wore identical looks to Toshiro.

Neville nodded. "Yeah and he's really scary. He's covered in silvery blood and everyone's to scared of him to ask how he got it. And his eyes are all creepy and black and empty and…I don't like it." Neville shuddered.

The four of them, along with the rest of the class watched as Lupin spoke to Peeves the Poltergeist. Neville looked a bit startled when Peeves began mocking Lupin and blew a raspberry at him. Neville leaned close to Toshiro. "He's never acted like that towards a teacher." He whispered. "He always treats them with respect, even if it is reluctantly."

The class gave a startled shout of awe as Lupin cast a spell, sending the gum up Peeves' nose and sending him floating away, muttering curses as he went. Lupin beckoned the class forward and led them down the rest of the corridor until they arrived outside of the staffroom. Lupin quickly ushered them inside, where they all paused just inside the door when they spotted Snape sitting in an armchair. He turned when they entered and rose to his feet as Lupin made to close the door behind him. "Leave it open." He said airily. He sneered around the room. "I'd rather not witness this."

He headed towards the door but paused before leaving, turning his beady black eyes to Lupin. He spotted Neville standing apprehensively beside Toshiro. His eyes narrowed as he took in the white-haired transfer, who matched his icy look with one of his own. Then his lip curled into a nastier sneer and he turned back to Lupin. "I don't know if anyone's told you, Lupin. But this class contains Neville Longbottom. If you cherish your life and the life of the rest of these students, I'd suggest not giving him something too difficult. He might blow up the classroom."

Neville blushed uncomfortably and Toshiro narrowed his eyes to slits, glaring at him. Beside him, Harry was glaring as well, and behind him, Ichigo and Renji glared. Lupin, however, raised his eyebrows pleasantly, speaking before either of them could tell Snape exactly what they thought. "Is that so? Well I was hoping Neville here could help with the first part of this task, and I'm sure he'll do remarkably well." Neville blushed harder at the vote of confidence and Toshiro smiled at Lupin's back in approval. Finally, a teacher who showed him encouragement instead of criticism.

Toshiro met Snape's eye and gave a small smirk. _Told you so_. He thought smugly. Snape merely smirked back and left the room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as the class was distracted once more by Professor Lupin ushering them towards the back of the room, Neville leaned towards Toshiro and whispered in his ear. "You know, I think Snape might actually like you." He said in a thoughtful voice. "I've never seen him look at another student like that except maybe his Slytherins. But even them not as much."

"I think Neville's right." Harry said from Toshiro's other side. He looked just as thoughtful as Neville sounded. "He looked more like he was trying to test you. Or challenge you. Or something. But he definitely didn't look like he hated you, like he does to everyone else."

Neville looked Toshiro in the eye. "You think it had something to do with…?" Neville asked, letting the sentence hang meaningfully.

Toshiro shrugged. "It's possible."

"With what?" Harry and Ron asked simultaneously. Harry looked from one to the other. "What happened when?"

"…we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Can you spot it, Harry?" Lupin asked.

Harry gave a start, feeling sheepish for talking in the middle of class. Lupin gave no sign of noticing, waiting pleasantly for Harry to answer his question. "Um, it won't know who to go for because there's so many of us?" Harry said uncertainly.

Lupin nodded. "Exactly. Which is why we're all here together. And that's why it is always good to tackle a boggart with another person. Causes it to become confused. But the best way to defeat a boggart is with laughter. Make it take the shape of something you find amusing."

"Why not just cast a Tickling Charm on whoever is facing it?" Ichigo asked mildly, twirling his wand between his fingers lazily. "I think I read in a book about one. What was it called…_**Rictusempra**_?" As soon as Ichigo said the word, the spell shot from his twirling wand, hitting the person it had pointed at when he said it. Renji immediately fell to the ground, laughing uncontrollably and clutching his sides. Ichigo stopped twirling his wand and raised his eyebrows at him in amusement. "Oops."

The class chuckled as Lupin cast the counter spell, releasing Renji from the Tickling Charm. Renji leaped to his feet, breathing heavily and glaring at Ichigo, red-faced. "You idiot!" he yelled, pointing his wand at Ichigo. Toshiro quickly reached up and snatched the wand out of his hand.

"Not now." Toshiro said in a bored tone. He waited for Renji to relax a bit before lazily handing it back.

Lupin cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I suppose that spell could work." He said thoughtfully, his eyes shining with amusement. Toshiro noticed his eyes cloud over for a moment as he watched Renji and Ichigo, looking almost saddened. But just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared, as if it had never been there before. "However, instead of casting the Tickling Charm on each student in turn, as I doubt they would welcome, we will merely practice the more original charm. Without wands first, repeat after me…_riddikulus!" _The class repeated the word. "Very good. Now for the tricky part."

Professor Lupin turned his gaze to Neville, who shrank back instinctively. "If you could step forward please, Neville?" Neville hesitated for a second before slowly stepping forward until he was standing beside Lupin. "Good. Now, Neville, what would you say scares you the most?"

Neville bit his lip nervously and mumbled inaudibly. Lupin leaned a bit closer. "What was that? You'll have to speak up, I'm afraid."

"P-professor Snape." Neville muttered a bit louder.

"Professor Snape…interesting." Lupin mumbled softly. "You live with your grandmother, do you not?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah, but I would rather it not turn into her either." Toshiro smirked, remembering the way Neville's grandmother had scolded him for loosing his book list when they had first met. Neville caught his eye and flushed, seeming to remember as well.

"No, no. That's not what I meant." Lupin said kindly. "Can you picture the clothes she wears?"

Toshiro thought back to the day he had seen her as Neville named off the things she usually wore. That day, she had worn pretty much the same things Neville was describing now: green dress, tall hat with a stuffed vulture on top, fox-fur scarf, and yes, he even remembered the red handbag she had worn, which she had stuffed Neville's list into instead of handing it back to him when she was finished buying his things.

After Neville had finished naming off her clothing and Lupin had finished instructing him and the entire class on how to tackle the boggart, the class backed away into a wide semicircle around Neville and the wardrobe. Lupin stood off to the side a ways, his wand pointing at the doorknob of the wardrobe. "Just do as I've instructed and you should be fine. Ready? One, two…"

The wardrobe burst open and out stepped Snape, wearing his black robes, with his beady black eyes and stringy black hair hanging like a curtain off his head. He spotted Neville, who trembled and took a step back, and advanced toward him menacingly, giving off a good impression of the real Snape. Neville took a trembling breath and squeaked out "_riddikulus!_" and there was a sudden pop. The next they knew, Snape was standing in front of them, wearing the clothes Neville's grandmother wore, topped off with the vulture hat. Toshiro resisted the urge to laugh at the sight before him. He had a feeling this image would be imprinted in his long memory for quite some time. The class would never be able to look at Snape the same again, he was sure.

Lupin called the next student, who stepped up passed Neville to tackle the boggart, letting Neville back away until he was standing beside Toshiro once more, watching the rest of the class. Student after student tackled the boggart, each one making it change into something scary to them and then something amusing. But suddenly things went horribly wrong.

Ron had just finished his go with the boggart, making the giant spider it had turned into, lose all eight of its legs and start rolling across the floor. Unfortunately, it had stopped to land right in front of Renji, letting out a loud pop before changing. What they saw next was beyond anything anyone was prepared for. The class stared in horrified shock, frozen in place by the fear that was emanating from Renji's visible fear to the rest of the room, Lupin included. It was beyond anything they could imagine. Several of the girls screamed and slapped their hands to their mouths. Parvati and Lavender covered their eyes fearfully. Ron swore softly, though no one took notice. The majority of the class, Harry included, felt as though they were going to be sick.

A large white gorilla stood in front of him, a long serpent protruding from its backend where a tail should have been. Both were decorated with the same intricate tattoos that could just barely be seen beneath the white headband around his forehead and creeping up the sides of his neck beneath his robes. Both animals were standing a ways away, their backs turned on him. But what terrified him the most, what caused him to remain rooted to the spot in fear, was not only the animals turned away from him, but also the figures before him, between him and the animal pair. A tall, handsome man with shoulder-length black hair decorated with white ornaments stood in front of Renji, wearing a strange black robe with a sleeveless white cloak over his shoulders and a thick white scarf around his neck, a thinner white sash tied around his waist. He stared at Renji, his eyes piercing, accusing. In his arms was a still figure, limp and lifeless, wearing a single white robe, dripping with blood. Rukia.

"Rukia!" Renji called in horror, his eyes traveling to the sword protruding from her chest.

"_You killed her, Renji._" Byakuya said coldly. "_I told you you were weak. You couldn't even save one person. Look at the mess you've made._"

"I didn't kill her!" Renji yelled furiously.

"_Then why is your sword sticking out of her body?_" Byakuya asked.

Renji's blood ran cold. It **was** his sword! But why? How? It wasn't possible! "I didn't." he whispered in denial. "I couldn't have."

"_You did. Why else do you think they won't even look at you?_" Byakuya turned his head to the animals behind him and back to Renji, who was trembling in fear. "_You failed to protect her. You promised her you would. You're a liar. A weak liar. She was better off not knowing you. But now she's dead. And it's all your fault, Renji. You have no one to blame but yourself._"

"That's not true, Byakuya!" Ichigo shouted. He stepped up beside Renji, placing a hand on his chest and gently pushing him away from the boggart. Immediately, there was a pop and once again there was screaming and cursing and cries of horror from around the room. Renji's eyes glazed over and he numbly stepped back until his back collided with the wall. Then he slowly sank down to the ground and placed his hands on his head.

Ichigo froze, his eyes widening in terror at the scene before him. Lying face-down on the ground, blood seeping through the back of her shirt, limbs positioned awkwardly, was a woman with long wavy hair flowing across her back and onto the ground, mixing with her blood. Behind her, three more figures lay on the ground, blood seeping from their bodies to the ground, flowing together and forming one giant puddle. Ichigo stared down at the lifeless bodies of his family, his mother, his twin sisters, and his father.

Suddenly a cold laugh echoed in his ears and he looked up, his heart catching in his throat. It was like looking into a black and white mirror. A replica of Ichigo stood before them all, except his entire body was a pale grey, his hair was white, his clothes were white, and his eyes were black, empty, hollow. He sneered at Ichigo, holding up his bloody hands for the room to see. "_What do you think, King? Is red my color?_"

Ichigo's fists clenched tightly. "YOU BASTARD!" he shouted in outrage. "What did you do?"

"_Exactly what I wanted._" The other Ichigo said with an evil cackle. "_I destroyed you. You're gone, King. You're nothing. I've finally taken over at last. And it's all thanks to you. I couldn't have done it without you, see?_" He chuckled and licked some of the blood from the back of his hand.

"You sick bastard! I'd never help you!" Ichigo shouted. "You're a liar!"

"_Am I, King? Am I really? Well, if you don't believe me, just ask Zangetsu._" Evil Ichigo stepped aside, allowing Ichigo to see the man standing behind him. The man was dressed in a tattered black cloak, with shoulder-length messy black hair, stubble along the jaw line of his haggard face and a strange pair of glasses over his eyes. Many people screamed Sirius Black, and even Lupin instinctively lifted his wand before remembering that this wasn't real.

The man stared at Ichigo through his odd glasses. "_I thought you were stronger than this, Ichigo. Yet you were so weak, instead of fighting, you gave up. You gave me away. He killed your family because of you. You're too weak to wield me, Ichigo._"

"That's not true! I didn't give up!" Ichigo shouted. "I wouldn't give up, no matter what."

"_You already did._" Zangetsu said and then abruptly turned his back on him.

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo cried.

Evil Ichigo stepped back in front of Zangetsu. "_You see, King? It's over. I won. You're finished. Just like your family._" Evil Ichigo raised a hand and aimed a punch at one of his sisters.

"No!" Ichigo shouted. One of the girls in the room shrieked and hid her face behind her hands.

"Ichigo!" Toshiro shouted. He stepped behind Ichigo and grabbed his arm, attempting to turn him around, to face away from the scene before the punch could connect. Ichigo tried to yank his arm away but only managing to succeed in pulling Toshiro forward until he was standing partly in front of him. This was what Toshiro had been trying to avoid. But it was too late.

There was another pop and another gruesome scene laid itself out before the horrified class, this one so horrifying that no one made a sound. Ichigo backed away from the scene and slumped down beside Renji, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to force the image away. Toshiro didn't notice, too engrossed was he in the scene played out before him. There was snow covering the ground in front of Toshiro, most of the white splashed with a dark red. An old bald man with a crisscross scar across his head stood before him, his eyes nearly shut, wearing a long white boomerang shaped mustache, a long pointed beard hanging down to the white sash wrapped around the waist of his strange black robe, and long pointed eyebrows. A thick, knobby wooden cane stood in the snow, reaching up to his chest, his hands placed lightly on top of the head of the cane, which was nearly as thick as his own head.

Between the old man and Toshiro, who had gone, if possible, even more pale than he already was, looking almost transparent as he gazed at the bodies that lay in the snow. Each was covered in blood, so much blood, and all of them staring blankly up at him, staring accusingly, their lifeless eyes boring into his own horror-filled ones. _Rangiku_. _Momo_. _Ukitake_. _And…no! Neville!_ Toshiro stared down at them, his teal eyes wide in fear, such powerful fear, more than he had ever felt at one time in his entire existence. How? How had this happened? Who…? No. It isn't real. It's not real. It's not…

Toshiro's eyes snapped up from the lifeless bodies to Yamamoto as he spoke. "_This is your doing, Hitsugaya._" He said sagely. "_Because of your incompetence, you have failed. And it ended up costing the lives of the innocent; the lives of those who trusted you, who had unwisely placed their faith in you. A misplaced faith; a misplaced trust. They are dead because of you. Look at them. See the lives you have destroyed._"

Toshiro shook his head slowly. "No." he whispered fearfully.

"Toshiro, it's not real!" Neville cried, snapping out of his horrified stance. He didn't like the fear in Toshiro's eyes, the pain. But most of all, he didn't like the look of acceptance. Toshiro was _believing_ everything the old man was saying, who was, like the people in the other scenes, speaking English, allowing the others in the room to understand what was being said.

"_I should have known better than to trust something so imperative to a meager child. You are not worthy of life._" The old man continued to say, drilling his words into Toshiro's skull. "_Why should you get to live while others die meaningless deaths because of your own incompetence? I have no further use of one so worthless. You should just end it now._" The old man reached into one of the wide sleeves of the outer white robe he wore over the black and pulled out a small but sharp dagger, its silver hilt shining with jewels in his strong hands, the sharp point of the blade pointed straight at Toshiro's heart.

"Toshiro, no!" Neville cried desperately. But Toshiro did not seem to hear him, his eyes zeroing in on the dagger, becoming transfixed on the tip of the blade.

"_End it. You do not deserve to live. Destroy yourself and rid us of your useless presence, Toshiro Hitsugaya!_" Toshiro took a step closer, the point of the blade coming dangerously close to his chest. Yamamoto was right. Why should he live? The others died because of him. He should just end it. He did not deserve to live. He took another step, the sharp point touching the front of his robes.

"NO!" Neville and Harry rushed forward, Neville seizing Toshiro from behind, wrapping his arms around Toshiro's waist, and lifted him up, carrying him bodily away from the boggart. Harry stepped in front of Toshiro, trying to push him back away from the point of the dagger. Another pop was heard and Harry spun around, ready to face the boggart, but Lupin suddenly rushed in front of him. Another loud pop and suddenly a white orb floated in front of them. Lupin yelled "_riddikulus!_" and the orb deflated, falling to the ground in the form of a cockroach.

"Neville, finish it off!" Lupin commanded.

Neville stepped forward, an angry expression on his face. He glared up at the now boggart Snape, feeling furious for what it made Toshiro and the others witness. "_Riddikulus!_" he shouted, pointing his wand at the Snape's chest. The boggart once more wore his grandmother's clothing before Neville let out a loud "Ha!" and the boggart exploded into a cloud of smoke.

There was an eerie, uneasy silence in the room, the entire class looking at the three transfers in horror and sympathy. Several of the girls sobbed quietly into their hands covering their face. Ichigo and Renji still sat on the floor next to the wall, their knees drawn up to their chests and their wrists resting on their knees. Renji gazed mournfully at the ground between his legs, his chin resting on his wrists, while Ichigo glared furiously at his hands, clenched in tight fists. Toshiro continued to stand where Neville had released him, a haunted look clouding his teal eyes, his body stiffened unnervingly. Their fears seemed so dismal compared to the transfers'. Just what had they experienced that made them have fears like those?

Neville strode over to Toshiro and placed his hands on the white-haired boy's shoulders, forcing him to face him. "Toshiro." Neville said firmly. "Toshiro, look at me." Toshiro slowly lifted his vacant eyes to Neville's, not really seeing. "It wasn't real. You hear me? It was not real. I'm right here and I'm not dead. Rangiku isn't dead either. And neither are the other two people you saw. None of it was real. It was the boggart, remember? It played your fears. It. Was. Not. Real." He pronounced each last word with a gentle but firm shake of Toshiro's shoulders.

"It wasn't real." Toshiro mumbled. He blinked slowly, his eyes clearing, and shook his head, as if trying to clear it. Then he reached up and gently unhooked Neville's hands from his shoulders, backing away slightly. "Excuse me." He said softly, stiffly bowing to the room at large, and then whirled around and strode briskly out the door without a backward glance.

"Toshiro, wait!" Neville called, but by the time he reached the doorway, Toshiro had gone.

"Leave him." Renji said softly, his voice monotone, his eyes hollow. "Just give him some air. Don't pester."

Lupin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Um, let's see. Five points to Gryffindor for every student who faced the boggart, ten for Neville for doing it twice, and five each to Hermione and Harry for answering my questions in the beginning. Homework is to read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it. To be handed in on Monday. Class dismissed except for our two remaining transfers." The class slowly began gathering their things in silence, shooting nervous and saddened glances at Ichigo and Renji out of the corner of their eyes as they passed. Harry and Neville lingered, gazing sorrowfully at the two, wanting to help but not knowing how. Hermione and Ron hovered at the door for Harry, their eyes filled with worry for Ichigo and Renji, neither having moved from their seats by the wall.

Lupin stepped up to the lingering pair and gently but firmly ushered them to the door. "Don't worry." He said softly. "They'll be fine. I'll talk to them. Go, enjoy dinner. And Neville," Neville looked up at him. "Can I trust you to inform Toshiro of the homework assignment? And to let him know that if he needs to speak to me, that I am available? Let him know that I will be speaking to his two companions right now. And give him some support but don't pry or push." Neville nodded firmly and he and Harry left the room with Ron and Hermione.

Lupin sighed and shut the door before casting a silencing spell on it and striding back to Ichigo and Renji. He quietly cast a levitation spell, brought two of the low armchairs to place themselves on either side of the pair, and then brought one more for himself. "Please, take a seat." He said, gesturing to the chairs as he sat in his own. "They must be more comfortable than the floor, I'd imagine."

Mutely, Ichigo and Renji stood up from the floor and slumped down into the armchairs, Renji's eyes continuing to stare blankly into space while Ichigo glared at the floor, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. Lupin waited several moments but when it looked as if neither of them would speak, he sighed and broke the silence. "Do either of you want to share anything? I'm all ears and I assure you, whatever is said won't leave this room. But you know how the rumor mill works. Before the end of dinner, the entire school will know about the occurrence in this class today, including the teachers and the headmaster. I'm not trying to goad you into saying anything, but it would be nice to know the truth instead of relying on the imaginations of teenagers."

"We each have a personal fear." Renji said in an empty voice, eyes never leaving his hands folded in his lap. "Someone we wish to protect. Friends, family members. And our personal fear of incompetence. Failing to protect. Failing something we worked so hard to do our whole lives or so."

"Things have happened in our past, or things that are supposed to happen later." Ichigo said. "We're currently at war with one of our own. Actually he's one of their own, rather than mine, but he's a Soul Reaper. He turned evil and is trying to destroy Soul Society. He's everyone's enemy right now. He's been digging into everyone's sore spots since we've met him. Most of our fears were already in existence, just enhanced because of him."

Renji looked up and turned his blank stare to Ichigo. "I don't think we should be talking about this to outsiders." He blinked owlishly at Lupin. "No offense."

Lupin nodded. "None taken."

"It's just that these are Soul Society matters. I'm not so sure this is appropriate to talk about to anyone other than each other." Renji shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure Captain Hitsugaya wants us to reveal too much."

Lupin nodded in understanding. "I quite understand. How are you feeling now? I just wanted to get you two talking, break you out of your depression. You seemed to really need to talk."

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, it did help a bit. I'm not really used to talking about stuff like this."

Renji shook his head. "Me neither. I don't think any of us are. I usually talk to Rukia, if I talk to anyone at all. Otherwise I'll talk to two of my friends, Ikkaku and Yumichika. Rukia is a bit the same; she'll either talk to me, Ichigo, or Captain Ukitake. Rangiku usually talks to Captain Ukitake as well. And sometimes she talks to Captain Hitsugaya… I mean Toshiro. and Toshiro, as far as I know, talks to Rangiku and Captain Ukitake." Renji paused and frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, I think everyone talks to Captain Ukitake. He's just really kind and understanding. He listens to everyone and always tries to help where he can. Even I've spoken to him a few times."

"I haven't but he seems like someone good to talk to." Ichigo muttered. "And I know Rukia looks up to him a lot. Then again, he is her captain. Still…"

Lupin smiled softly, glad to hear them slowly regaining their confidence and putting their earlier fears aside for the moment. "I'd hate to bring this back up again, but about the fears you witnessed today. I was trying to show you that now that you are no longer in front of them, they don't seem so bad, do they?" Renji and Ichigo shook their heads. "I believe that you two, and your friends, are strong enough to over-come your fears. I know it will take some time, as your fears are so much more intense than the rest of the students. But you can do it. It just takes time and determination."

Ichigo suddenly stood up, startling the other two. "I **will** overcome this. I'm not going to fail. I know I won't."

Renji nodded and stood up as well. "Me too. I'll prove myself to Zabimaru. I'll prove to him I can wield him."

"And Zangetsu." Ichigo nodded firmly. Then he blinked and groaned, slumping back onto the chair. "Oh, crud. I forgot to write back to my sisters yesterday morning or this morning. I'm definitely going to hear it tomorrow morning. Yuzu's going to throw a fit and I have a feeling if Karin knew how to send curses through the mail, she would."

Renji laughed teasingly. "You're screwed."

Ichigo glared at him. "Shut up. I'll take care of it."

"Well, now that that's taken care of, shall we go down to dinner?" Lupin asked.

Ichigo and Renji nodded enthusiastically as their stomachs gave loud grumbles. Lupin laughed pleasantly and the three of them headed out the door and down to the Great Hall. Two of the transfer students seemed to have survived pretty well with their experiences with the boggart. But Lupin hoped that Neville would be able to help Toshiro. He seemed to take his experience pretty hard and Lupin hoped he would be alright, mentally and physically. Hopefully.

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**A/N: Sorry this was so much longer than usual. Probably the second longest chapter I've written for this story so far, but I wanted to try my hand at making the Soul Reapers more influential in the storyline. And I was so eager to finally get the boggart scene up. I had planned on putting it in this chapter but I hadn't planned on making this chapter so long. Also, I'm not sure if the boggart can change into more than one thing like I had it do here, nor am I sure it can talk but I made it do both here. Hope no one minds but I couldn't find the information anywhere that said otherwise. I know it can make sound because of the boggart scene in the book where it let out a wail when it turned into a banshee for Seamus. But, we'll see. Please don't forget to review and let me know what you think about all this. Thanks!**

***Gaijin ~ foreigner**


	18. Neville Is Given A Chance

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I just moved out of my parents' house the second week of December and not everyone was happy with my decision. Mostly my mom, stepdad, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. So pretty much everyone had something to say about my decision to move out. But it's not like I'm moving out of the country or anything. I'm just moving in with a friend. But, so I've been pretty distracted lately, what with settling in and financial stuff. Plus with Christmas and all. December just wasn't my month. But I haven't forgotten or given up this story. It's just taking me longer to get back into the swing of writing. But, rest assured, I will be working as hard as I can on these next chapters. My goal is to have at least one more chapter up after this one, before school starts back up again on the 26****th****. Wish me luck and free of writer's block, every writer's bane. Thanks for your understanding. Enjoy the chapter!**

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**Chapter Eighteen: Neville Is Given A Chance**

Neville entered the Gryffindor common room and quickly scanned the area as he made his way to the staircase leading to the boys' dormitories. He was worried about Toshiro. After he had left the Defense classroom, Neville had made his way up to Gryffindor Tower, taking as many different corridors, staircases, and secret passages as he could on the way up in the hopes that he would spot his small friend on the way, but no such luck. Toshiro was nowhere to be found. It was like the boy had just up and vanished. But that was impossible. As he had heard Hermione constantly remind Harry and Ron, it was impossible to Apparate and Disapparate within the school grounds because of complex spells. So where had Toshiro gone?

Neville made his way up the stairs to the third year boys' dorm and entered. The room was empty, save for clusters of clothing scattered here and there around the room, ink bottles and crumpled parchment tossed carelessly on the nightstands, and unneeded spell books in haphazard heaps at the foot of every four-poster, whose curtains were all open and revealing empty beds. The furnace along the wall emitted soft gusts of warmth into the room as Neville shut the door with a frown and headed back down the stairs and out of the portrait hole.

Where _had_ Toshiro gone? Neville knew he hadn't been that far behind him when they left the classroom. And he hadn't gone in the direction of the Great Hall, so he wouldn't be there. Plus, when people were upset, the last place they wanted to be was around people, particularly people who had witnessed whatever had upset the person in the first place and would most likely start staring shamelessly. But then where was he? And the most important question of all; was he okay? Neville's frown deepened as Toshiro's face flashed through his mind again, the look of horror and fear and acceptance painted across the pale features disturbing Neville more than the old man's words. How could Toshiro believe what that old man was saying? Why would he so easily believe something like that?

Neville's frown of worry turned into a frown of anger and irritation. Anger for the old man who had said those things to Toshiro and irritation for Toshiro for believing the things the man had said in the first place. Hadn't Toshiro just finished scolding Neville for listening to the hurtful and spiteful things Snape was saying to and about him during Potions? So where does he get off going around taking some old man's words to heart? He wasn't even a real old man. Not really. He was a boggart, saying the things that would most scare the one it faces. It's not like the old man, whoever he was, would've actually said something like that, right? He didn't look like someone who would say something so hurtful. He just looked like a kindly old man, like someone's grandfather. Just who was that man, anyway? Why would Toshiro be expecting him to say that he was unworthy and useless and all of those other things he had said?

"I don't understand." Neville mumbled to himself as he descended another flight of stairs, resigning in the search for his missing friend and heading down towards the Great Hall.

"Some things aren't meant to be understood, you know." Said a dreamy voice from behind.

Neville whirled around and came face to face with Luna, who gazed at him with a dazed, yet curious look in her wide eyes. "Luna!" Neville gasped in astonishment. "Don't do that! You scared me for a second there. What are you doing up here? Dinner's about to start."

"I know." Luna said, casually continuing her descent down the stairs ahead of him. Neville hurried after her as she continued speaking. "I was on my way down now. I had something to find first. But you're not at dinner either."

"I'm looking for Toshiro." Neville admitted as they headed down another corridor. "He was a bit upset when he ran out of Defense today. Boggarts, you know."

Luna nodded. "They are quite frightening, boggarts. Very unpleasant."

"Yeah, well this boggart was particularly nasty when it came time for the transfer students. They all feared death, but for someone else instead of themselves." said Neville, shuddering at the memory. "It was horrible."

"That's very noble of them, fearing the death of others instead of themselves. It seems the Sorting Hat was right in placing them in Gryffindor." Luna commented dreamily.

"Yeah, well I think it hit Toshiro pretty hard. I was trying to look for him and see if he was okay." Neville said. "But I searched for him all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, in the common room, and the dorm. He's nowhere."

"He can't be nowhere." Luna said sagely. "Everywhere is somewhere. It has a title, it's a place, people can get to it. How can something like that be nowhere? How can a _person_ be nowhere?"

"I don't know. But I've looked everywhere." Neville said exasperatedly.

Luna stopped walking and looked at him strangely. "Have you tried the Hospital Wing? Or the library? Or every single bathroom? Or Mr. Filch's broom cupboards? Or the Owlery? Or the dungeons? Or another house's common room? Or under the lake? Or in a mouse hole?"

Neville frowned. "W-well, no. But-"

"Then you didn't look _everywhere_. How do you know he's not in one of the places you _haven't_ looked in?" Luna scrutinized him further. "Are you psychic? Or did a _Piliko Torrack_ tell you? They don't give information away for free, you know. It's wiser not to make deals with them. Do you still have your fingers? They like taking those as payment."

"No, wait a minute." Neville said, stopping her rant about a creature that may or may not, more likely, exist. "I have all my fingers, and no I didn't ask a pili-whatever. I just meant – oh, never mind. The point is, I couldn't find him in any of the places I checked on the way to Gryffindor Tower. I was hoping that by the time I got to the Great Hall, he would be there."

"And what if he's not?" Luna asked. "Are you going to look for him?"

Neville shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. We're not really supposed to miss dinner." Neville glanced worriedly back the way they had come, as if his small friend would suddenly appear before them. "But I'm worried. He's my friend. He stuck up for me against Professor Snape. We barely know each other and yet he's already done a lot for me. I actually want to try to do better. I've never met anyone who's had so much faith in me before. Not even Gran ever seemed like she had high hopes for me. But Toshiro thinks I can do better than I've been. He believes I can. And I don't want to let him down. He's the first real friend I've ever had and he's done a lot for me. I can't even begin to repay him for what he's done. But I have to do something…" Neville bit his bottom lip hesitantly and then nodded firmly to himself. He turned back to Luna. "I'm going to go look for him. If he's not in the castle, then I'll go down to the Great Hall and hope he shows up. And if not, at least he'll show up in the dorms tonight. He can't wander around all night. I'll see you later."

Luna smiled almost smugly. "Remember, if he's not in any of the places you've tried, then he's in one of the places you haven't tried. You just have to look. And if a _Piliko Torrack_ offers to help you, say no unless you're willing to loose a finger."

"Hey, Luna." Neville called as Luna reached the top of the next flight of stairs. She turned and gazed at him curiously. "Thanks."

Luna smiled and gave a curt nod before descending the stairs. Neville whirled around and headed back down the corridor in search of his new friend. _I have to do something._ He thought as he searched the empty classrooms. _He's done so much for me already. The least I can do is make sure he's okay. I won't take our friendship for granted. I won't._

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Neville sighed as he left yet another empty classroom. He couldn't understand it. He'd searched nearly every classroom he could find, even the broom cupboards but still no sign of Toshiro. He checked the Hospital Wing and the Library, deciding that the dungeons weren't safe for a Gryffindor to wander alone, and had worked his way almost all the way up to the Owlery. If he couldn't find Toshiro in the Owlery, he'd call it quits and just wait for Toshiro to turn up on his own. He had to. They had classes tomorrow and even if he found somewhere else to sleep, he'd still have to go to the dorm to switch textbooks. Yeah.

Nodding in agreement to himself, Neville continued on his way up to the Owlery, continuing to check the classrooms along the way. After a few more minutes of climbing, Neville made it. He approached the doorway of the Owlery but froze when he heard voices coming from inside. The first voice was definitely Toshiro's and he seemed to be speaking to someone. Unable to hear what was being said, Neville instinctively took a step forward and stopped. This wasn't right. It was rude to eavesdrop on someone, especially someone he considered a friend. Neville was about to back away when he heard the second voice speak clear enough for him to hear.

"And you're sure they were all speaking English?" That voice definitely belonged to Toshiro's friend, Rangiku. What was _she_ doing up here?

"I'm absolutely positive." Came Toshiro's voice. There was something off about it, Neville noticed. As if his small friend was still trying to recompose himself. "Yamamoto and Byakuya both spoke clear English, allowing the entire class to hear and understand everything. Which is my main concern at the moment, and why I suggest that both you and Rukia either skip this lesson, or else participate in private."

There was a short pause and then Rangiku spoke. "This boggart. It manifests your greatest fear, right? So, if we learn to overcome that fear, do you think we could use this as a tactical advantage in the war?"

Neville blinked in confusion. _War?_ He thought quizzically. _What war? Do they mean against Sirius Black? Because that's not really a war. And they can't mean against You-Know-Who, because he's supposed to be dead. And who are Yama-mamo-moto and Bee-ya-cu-yah?_

"It's possible." Toshiro amended thoughtfully. "That's one of the reasons I just sent that message to Ukitake. I'd like to hear what they think." A pause. "But what concerns me the most is the fact that the boggarts spoke English. Why? How was it able to speak English instead of Japanese? I'm not sure if that was part of the boggart's effect or if something happened, but I don't think it should have been able to do that. Hopefully, Kurotsuchi can come up with an explanation. Most likely, though, he's going to want to experiment on a real boggart, and I doubt we could mail one. Nor do I think it wise to do so. The last thing we need is to have someone back home have their greatest fear popping out of a box."

"Speaking of fear, how are you holding up?" Rangiku asked in concern.

Neville heard Toshiro give an audible sigh. "I'm fine, I think. It just caught me off guard."

"Are you sure?" Rangiku asked. "You didn't seem fine earlier. You were as white as a hollow's mask."

"To be honest, I've been better." Toshiro answered. "I really wasn't expecting it. And speaking of hollows, we may have a problem with Kurosaki."

"A problem?" Neville was a bit surprised at the sudden seriousness in Rangiku's voice.

"We may need to keep an eye on him." Toshiro said. "On the train, when that Dementor attacked, I thought I saw the signs of Hollowfication on Ichigo. And I could have sworn I saw the beginnings of a hollow mask on the back of his head. I suggest we keep an eye on him just in case."

"I see. But how's that possible? Isn't hollowfication supposed to be extremely dangerous and even fatal? He would need extreme training to even come close to mastering it. Not to mention it's illegal."

"I know. And I don't think he has mastered it. I think he's struggling. But what I don't understand is why and how. Why is he turning into a hollow and how is he able to control it to the extent that he has? And if he has learned hollowfication, who taught him? It's nearly impossible to learn on your own."

"Well, I guess for now, we just keep an eye on him." Rangiku said. "But do you want to tell Renji and Rukia or should we wait until we have more answers first?"

There was another pause, and at first Neville thought Toshiro wasn't going to answer. But then Toshiro sighed again. "I suggest we wait. We should make sure there's proof before we start pointing fingers. And we must be absolutely certain before we bring it to the attention of the other Court Guards." Another pause. "After all; if it turns out that Ichigo is indeed learning hollowfication and everyone back home finds out, he'll more than likely be put to death."

Without thinking, Neville let out a small gasp of shock and horror. Before he could react to his mistake, a hand had reached out and grabbed the front of his robes, pulling him through the doorway and into the Owlery. He stumbled slightly as he was roughly pushed up against the wall and his eyes crossed as they zeroed in on the wand tip hovering inches from his nose. He blinked and instead focused on the owner of the wand. Toshiro looked more furious than Neville had ever seen him, Rangiku glaring down at him from behind Toshiro with her arms crossed over her chest.

"_What are you__** doing **__here_?" Toshiro hissed. "How much did you hear?"

"N-n-nothing! I- I d-didn't hear anything!" Neville whimpered.

"Don't lie, Neville." Toshiro commanded. "What did you hear?"

"J-just about the boggarts s-speaking English and Ichigo turning hollow and b-being put to death and something about a w-war. But that's it, I swear! I swear!" Neville trembled as he waited for Toshiro to decide to blow him away or whatever he was planning to do. After a moment of silence, in which Neville didn't dare breath, let alone move or speak, Toshiro's gaze softened a bit and he slowly released Neville, letting the boy slump weakly to the dirt-covered floor.

Toshiro sighed in exasperation. "You weren't supposed to hear any of that. It wasn't entirely your fault. I got careless and didn't even think about taking off my translator ring." He glared down at the little silver band on his finger, as if silently casting blame on it.

"It wasn't completely your fault either, Taicho." Rangiku said softly. "Because of that boggart, you weren't thinking straight."

"It doesn't matter." Toshiro said bitterly. "A captain should know better."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but what is going on?" Neville asked, almost pleadingly. "What was all that about back there? What war are you talking about? Who's Bee-ya-cu-yah and Yama-mamo-moto or however you say the names? And why would Ichigo be put to death over a hollowed mask? What were those boggarts about?"

Toshiro and Rangiku exchanged glances but Neville was unable to read the words behind them before they turned their gazes back to him. Toshiro frowned. "I'm afraid we can't tell you any of that. In fact, I believe it would be best if we erased your memory. If you could just hold still, I'll – "

"W-wait a minute!" Neville cried in alarm, pressing his back further against the wall. He didn't want his memory erased. He didn't want anyone anywhere near his mind at all, for personal reasons. "Why do you need to erase my memory? I won't tell anyone anything I'm not supposed to. I swear! I already told you I don't have any other real friends. Who would I tell?"

"It's forbidden for a human to know about us." Toshiro said.

"But I don't know about you." Neville said. "I don't know anything about you. And to be honest, I'm not even sure if what I do know about you is even true anymore." Neville hesitated and then asked tentatively. "Is it?"

"Taicho." Toshiro flicked his gaze to Rangiku, who had been watching the two of them thoughtfully. "Maybe we don't have to erase his memory. After all, Ichigo is a human and he knows about us."

"That's complicated." Toshiro replied.

"But true, nonetheless." Rangiku said with a small smirk. "And besides. Don't you think this could work to our advantage? Neville could be our inside man, so to speak. Maybe we could use his knowledge of how the school's run to help with the security sweep when the time comes. Plus, the school's already going on about you trying to boost up his self-confidence and all. Maybe this could help." Rangiku chuckled and winked down at Neville, who was still seated on the floor. "Besides, wouldn't it be fun seeing Professor Snape's face when he realizes that Neville is actually worth more than he's given him credit for? His whole 'bullying Neville' charade could blow up right in front of his sneering hook-nosed face."

Neville gave a small smile at the idea and turned his gaze to Toshiro. He seemed to really be struggling with making a decision as he glared thoughtfully at the owl dropping-covered floor and Neville wondered just how complicated the situation was that it was this difficult to decide if he should know about it. His gaze drifted up to the rafters, where the school's owls and the student's personal owls were stirring, waking from their daytime slumbers in order to prepare for their night time dinner hunting and early morning mail run. Neville shivered as cool air made it's way through the glassless windows, the partially cloudy sky lightening as the sun began its descent behind the trees of the forest.

"Alright." Neville's attention snapped back to the situation at hand as Toshiro nodded and brought his deep teal-colored eyes up to Neville's brownish-green ones. "We can't tell you everything, and certainly not everything we've told the teachers, but I believe there is no harm in telling you _some_things. But you have to swear, no matter what, no matter who asks or how, you will not tell anyone else. Is that understood?"

Neville nodded. Rangiku clapped her hands. "Great! Here, let me give you a hand." She bent down to help Neville to his feet and leaned in close, her plump lips grazing against his ear as she whispered. "I just saved you from sudden memory loss. You owe me big time and **I will** collect." Neville gulped as she laughed cheerfully and straightened him up, brushing loose owl feathers and dust from his clothes. "That's better."

Toshiro rolled his eyes, not wanting to know what his harebrained subordinate could have said to cause such an alarmed and horrified look to cross Neville's round face. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned to lean against the wall he had previously shoved Neville against. He stared up at Neville, his stern eyes meeting Neville's as if seeking out any sign that his new somewhat friend would break. "Now pay attention, because I'm only going to explain all of this once. Got it?"

Neville nodded and leaned back against the same wall as Toshiro began explaining as much as he could without giving too much away. Neville's eyes slowly grew wider in horror and shock each passing minute, and by the time Toshiro had finished, night had fallen, most of the owls had left, and Neville's head felt as if it was ready to burst. Exaggerated pictures swirled around in his head in a dizzying mess, puffs of silvery smoke floating out of dead bodies, dozens of Toshiros, Rangikus, Ichigos, Renjis and Rukias running around with butterfly nets, catching the floating souls and taking them back to their strange world. So far, Toshiro had told him roughly who they were in the sense of Soul Reapers, what they did for a living, and where they lived, giving death a whole new meaning. Oddly enough, instead of feeling insulted for being lied to and horrified by who or what they really were, Neville felt a great swell of pride. Toshiro had enough confidence and trust in Neville to feel able to tell Neville the truth, even if he had been coaxed by Rangiku. Or at least that's how Neville liked to think of it. It definitely made him feel more important, knowing something so dangerous and important that even the famous Harry Potter didn't know.

"But, okay, you've said who you were." Neville said slowly. "But what are you doing here? If you're not really a study abroad group, then why come to Hogwarts?"

"We're here on a few missions." Rangiku said. "Basically, we need to protect the school from this Vollywart guy and the man, Sirius Black. Not to mention the stupid soul suckers your ministry employed."

"The Dementors." Neville muttered thoughtfully.

"Exactly." Rangiku nodded. "That is **our** main concern. But we also need to keep an extra ear and eye on you people in general."

"Us?" Neville asked in bewilderment. "Why?"

"We've never worked with witches and wizards before." Toshiro answered. "We don't really know much about you and your kind. We're in a bit of a crisis ourselves at home. We're hoping any new ways of offense and defense learned here can be used back at home."

"Why, what happened?" Neville asked curiously. "Does this have something to do with the war you were talking about earlier?"

Toshiro hesitated and then nodded. "Yes. But I'm not elaborating. I'm just letting you know what we're here for. Now, I think we've said enough for the time being." He glanced down at his watch, just barely making out what it said through the pale light of the moon. "It's getting late, almost an hour and a half before curfew. We should get back to our dorms before any overly curious students come wandering around for us."

Neville blushed as Toshiro looked pointedly at him. Rangiku laughed and slung an arm over each of their shoulders, leading them toward the Owlery door. "Well, now that that's been settled, let's go. I'm sure our housemates miss us terribly. Or at least mine will. The girls are such gossips that they've been giving me the inside scoop on their homes and parent's jobs. They're like putty in my crafty hands. It's almost sad."

"Just don't do anything to offend them." Toshiro said in exasperation. "Or anything illegal."

"Of course not, Taicho." Rangiku said absently as they made their way back to the main part of the school. They stopped at the first flight of stairs. "Well, this is where we part. See you guys tomorrow. And welcome to our side, Neville." Then she turned and made her way almost cat-like down the stairs and out of sight. Toshiro and Neville continued on until they reached the bottom of Gryffindor Tower.

"We missed dinner." Neville said as a way of conversation. "Oh, and Professor Lupin said that he was going to talk to Ichigo and Renji about the boggarts and stuff and that if you wanted to talk, his door was always open."

"I'll take that to mind." Toshiro answered. "And don't worry about dinner. I've got that covered."

They stopped outside of the portrait hole and Toshiro placed a hand on Neville's upper arm, stopping him before he could utter the password. "Remember. Not a word."

Neville nodded. "I know. I won't. I promise. But what about Ichigo and the other two?"

"I'll let them know first. Later." Toshiro said.

Neville gave a nod and spoke the password that allowed them into the Gryffindor common room. Both Toshiro and Neville half expected to be swarmed with curious students questioning Toshiro about their whereabouts and his horrifying boggart experience. However, none of the students moved from their spots around the room, though they all stared at him with something akin to longing, as if suppressing the urge to bombard him with questions. Toshiro raised an eyebrow but remained silent as he and Neville weaved through the students and furniture until they reached the little area occupied by Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ichigo and Renji. Toshiro noticed that Harry, Hermione and Ron all seemed to be in the same state as the rest of the students, although they were at least refraining from staring.

Toshiro turned his gaze lazily to Ichigo and Renji. "What did you do?" he asked in an exaggerated tone, feeling as though he were a parent scolding an obviously guilty child.

"What makes you think we did anything?" Ichigo asked from his seat. His arms were crossed over his chest and a scowl was plastered across his face as he shot a glare at a group of girls who were inching closer. They immediately scurried up to the girls' dormitories.

Toshiro watched them go and turned back to Ichigo. "**That's** why."

"We just got tired of all the staring and stupid questions." Renji answered, his demeanor matching Ichigo's almost exactly. "We were fine after speaking to that teacher, Lupin. But as soon as we walked into the Great Hall, people kept coming up to us and asking questions about the boggarts. Those stupid girls that just ran away? They tried to call us poor defenseless children with such terrifying pasts and horrors and all this other mumbo jumbo crap."

"At first it was kind of funny." Ichigo continued. "But it got old real fast. Now it's just a bunch of bull-"

"Ichigo!" Hermione squawked in affront.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Anyway, so I just told them exactly what I'd do to the next person who asked another question about the boggart. One girl didn't believe me, so I upended the juice pitcher over her head." Ichigo shrugged. "Oh, and by the way, I've got another detention, this time with Professor McGonagall. But ever since then, no one has asked anything. And about fifteen minutes ago, I told everyone in here what I'd do if anyone even thinks about asking you. You're welcome."

Toshiro sighed and shook his head. "I have no more words for you at the moment. Well, if that's all, I'm going up to bed."

"Me too." Neville said.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, we'll follow you in a bit. And if any of the guys try to question you up there, bash their faces in."

"Right." Toshiro muttered. Neville snorted. Once the two of them were upstairs, Toshiro made his way to his trunk, pulled out two foam bowls with foreign symbols on the lids, and two pairs of bamboo chopsticks. He pulled off the lids to the bowls, revealing hardened noodles, and placed them on the nightstand between his and Neville's bed. Then he tore open two packets of a fine powder and another white substance and poured them into each bowl before picking up the pitcher of water and pouring a reasonable amount into the bowls. Then he set it down and gently tapped the side of each bowl with his wand. Instantly, the water steamed and the noodles softened. "This should hold you until tomorrow morning."

Neville took the chopsticks and the bowl Toshiro held out to him, the heavy scent of chicken and spices wafting up to meet his nose and making his mouth water. Using the chopsticks the way Toshiro had taught him the other night, Neville tentatively took a bite of the noodles, decided that it tasted good, and dug in.

"Not a word about the earlier discussion." Toshiro said as he ate his own instant ramen, inwardly grateful for Rangiku supplying them all with 'emergency food'. "That topic is not safe to be discussing at random. You never know who may be listening."

"You're really paranoid, you know that?" Neville commented thoughtfully.

Toshiro shrugged. "I have to be. The world isn't as black and white as we like to believe. There's actually a lot more gray than anything else."

"Huh?" Neville mumbled in confusion.

Toshiro shook his head. "Never mind. You'll figure it out. Just eat."

Neville and Toshiro silently ate their ramen and placed their empty bowls in the trash bin under the nightstand. Then they headed to their trunks, changed into their sleep clothes, and headed, with their bag of toiletries, to the bathroom. By the time they returned, the rest of the boys were finishing up with their night clothes and heading to the bathroom themselves. Toshiro tossed his things into his trunk, climbed into bed and shut the curtains around him, shutting out the silent stares of his dorm mates. Neville glanced in his direction sympathetically, and closed the curtains around his own bed before settling down for the night, everything Toshiro and Rangiku had said to him earlier swirling through his head well past the time the last person in the room had gone to bed. Neville expected to feel more shocked and afraid by what he had learned but all he seemed to feel was happiness and a swell of pride. After all, not everyone could say that their best friend was the captain to one of the teams that went around the world bringing wandering souls back to heaven, if it was indeed like heaven. But perhaps he would react properly after the shock wore off.

**A/N: Hey! So, I was REEEAALLYY stuck throughout this chapter, unable to get back into the swing of writing and stuff. But I went back and reread your guys' reviews and I've got to say, they really helped bring back my mojo. Thanks so much for all of the encouraging reviews you've sent over the course of this story. They really helped a lot. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint. There were a few details i put in here that i couldn't find on the net anywhere. Like what Soul Society would do if they ever found out that Ichigo did hollowfication. I believe it's illegal, but I'm not sure what they would do to Ichigo, since he's not really a Soul Reaper, but for now, I'm just going with the death penalty in order to make things more dramatic. I know this is a bit shorter and slower than what I've been writing so far, but it couldn't be helped. However, the rest should be back to normal. I just really wanted to get a chapter up after so long. I just have a few quick notes:**

**Now, we've come to the decision to let the Soul Reapers have more of an impact on the wizarding world, and that is not going to change (no take backs). However, there are still some things I will ask you guys about and see your input. For example, once Quidditch starts back up again, would you like me to place one or more of the transfers on any of the teams? I think it would be kind of boring to put a shinigami on **_**every**_** team but maybe one on Gryffindor or Rukia on Ravenclaw, or even Rangiku on Hufflepuff. I'm not sure how that will go with Diggory on that team as well though. I don't think Toshiro would enjoy playing but maybe Ichigo or Renji. I was thinking of one of the chasers be seriously injured or something and being banned from playing or something. And then the Gryffindor's would need to hold tryouts and one of the transfers end up stepping up and getting on the team, but just as a substitute for the year. Any suggestions on that? Let me know and I'll try to work it in. Don't forget to review! Even if it's just to yell at me for taking so long to update. Thanks again!**

**BTW: the next chapter will probably be the longest because not only will it have the new class in it, but it will also have Sirius Black's attack on the fat lady, as well as Halloween in general. Yeah, I know I'm late for Halloween but hey, better late than never.**


	19. A Series of Events

**C'sA/N: Sorry guys! Not much to say except that real life comes first. But I haven't forgotten this by any means. It'll just take a while longer than usual to post. But post I shall.**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: A Series of Events**

The next morning, the Gryffindor boys descended the stairs down to the Great Hall for breakfast, nearly all of them bleary-eyed except for Toshiro. He glanced around the room several times as he made his way to the Gryffindor table and sat down for the morning meal. Though it was still too early for the Great Hall to be filled, those who were present began to stare in his direction as he poured his morning tea, outwardly seeming unfazed but inwardly taking in every pair of eyes on his person and becoming increasingly annoyed. Even the other Gryffindors continued to stare, as if they hadn't had enough of it last night.

"Sort of wracks your nerves, doesn't it?" Renji whispered in his ear as he took a seat beside the small captain. He looked pointedly at a few Ravenclaw boys, who were whispering and pointing in their direction behind their hands as they headed to their own table. "All this staring. It's extremely rude, you know?"

"Kind of sad that the English raise their children to be so shameless." Ichigo muttered from the other side of Renji as he shoveled eggs onto his plate. "Talk about bad parenting."

"My mum and dad are not bad parents." Ron snapped angrily. His twin brothers nodded in agreement, identical frowns of offense on their faces, along with most of those who had heard Ichigo. "My mum is one of the most polite people you'll ever meet."

"Did your parents teach you to be polite, too?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, she did." Ron answered hotly, oblivious to Ichigo's point. "She taught us all of that stuff."

"Well, then you're not doing her teachings any justice, now are you?" Ichigo retorted frostily. He glared around at the rest of the table. "Your parents taught you lot to be considerate of others and all that, right? So then what the hell are you doing? Did they teach you that staring was polite? Did they say that it was okay to treat your peers like animals to observe in cages? Huh? Because that is **exactly** what you are doing!" Ichigo slammed his fist on the table top, surging to his feet, his voice rising to carry across the room as he continued to scold his housemates. "It's bad enough we have to leave our home country for years at a time with no idea when we'll next set foot on it, being bounced around from country to country, learning to make friends over and over again, just to leave them behind at the end of the year with no knowledge of when we'll next see them again, being forced into new cultures, new traditions, and new ways of life! But now we've got to put up with you people staring shamelessly at us like we're a bunch of freaks just because of our own personal fears! Yes, they're a bit graphic and quite extreme, but they are still fears, fears that we will continue to harbor in our hearts for who knows how long and your staring is not helping!"

He turned his glare to the rest of the school, most of whom were staring at Ichigo with mixed feelings of horror, awe and surprise. "And what's worse is that we can't even have the comfort of getting away from all the ridicule because we're stuck in this damn hell-hole of a school with a bunch of immature brats! Grow up, dammit!" Breathing heavily, Ichigo sent a last look around the room and then took his seat with a _hrrumph!_

The hall was quiet for a few moments, none of the students, ghosts or teachers making any noise as the majority of the room lapsed into guilty and sheepish silence. Finally, Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and rose to his feet. "Normally, Mr. Kurosaki, I would take points for your use of improper language. However, I think your words are well justified at present, what with the wild rumors floating around, along with Professor Lupin's personal explanation for what really happened yesterday. Therefore, I would merely ask that you refrain from using any more except maybe in solitude."

He passed his blue eyes over nearly every student in the room with one sweep, lingering a couple seconds longer on Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Students, I'm afraid I must admit, I am deeply disappointed that you would treat our guests so offensively. We all have fears in our hearts and none of us wish to have them displayed to the public. However, I had hoped that you would all have at least some decency and not hold the fears against our transfers, as you would not wish for your fears to be held against you. I can't imagine what it must be like to leave your home in such a way as Mr. Kurosaki has described and I did wish that they could find comfort here in Hogwarts. But alas, that is obviously not to be. If your offensive behavior persists, I'm afraid that not only would we never have visitors here again, but our schools reputation for hospitality would be tarnished. And so, students, I ask that you please refrain from making any further comments about the transfers' boggarts or shamelessly staring for that reason, for the duration of their stay."

And with that said, Dumbledore retook his seat and continued his breakfast, ignoring the silence that still rang loudly around the room. After a while, many students slowly began eating their own breakfasts, shifting guiltily in their seats as they refrained themselves from staring at the transfers. Before long, the rest of the school had dug into their meal, obediently avoiding the topic of the transfers' boggarts.

Toshiro slipped off his ring, turned his attention to Ichigo and muttered dryly. "_That was laying it on rather thick, don't you think?_"

Ichigo shrugged and slipped off his own ring. "_Hey, that sympathy card always works for my sisters. Besides, at least they aren't staring so much anymore. Which is what we were aiming for, right?_"

"_Still._" Renji added in thoughtfully. "_That was a pretty sappy sob story. Could you have made us sound any more pathetic?_"

Ichigo smirked and slipped his ring back on, the other two following suit. "Trust me, you don't need my help for that."

Renji scowled while Toshiro rolled his eyes but relaxed slightly. At least none of them would have to put up with staring anymore. Now he just hoped the students didn't decide to become overly friendly, like people had a habit of doing when they were feeling guilty about their previous actions. As if to prove his point, Hermione cleared her throat, catching his attention.

"So, how do you like your new classes so far?" she asked casually. "If there's anything you guys need help with, homework wise or anything, just let me know. I'd be happy to help. And I've read almost every book in the library, so if you need any specific books for essays and stuff, just ask."

Toshiro sighed and Neville jumped in. "Um, Hermione? You're trying too hard, I think."

Hermione faltered, flushing slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to – "

"I know what you wanted to do." Toshiro said. "And I appreciate it but the best thing you could do would be to drop it. That would help us all."

Hermione nodded. "Ok. So, um, this new class. It starts today, doesn't it? After Charms?"

Harry nodded, forcing a bit of enthusiasm to the surface. "Yeah, I'm kind of excited to see what it's about. And this new teacher. I hope he's not like the last new teachers we've had."

"He's probably worse." Ichigo muttered. "He'll probably shoot some deadly curse at you and tell you to survive it in order to pass the class."

Hermione looked alarmed. Ron gulped. "He wouldn't really, would he? I mean, we're students. That's not legal, is it?"

"No, it's not and no, he won't." Toshiro answered. "He knows better." That didn't exactly assure them all as they finished their breakfasts, the owl post delivering its usual parcels from home, paper subscriptions and parental reminders to stay in line, and headed out to their first class of the day. Toshiro followed Neville into the History of Magic classroom and took the seat near the back window, pushing the window open before sitting. Having been prepared by Neville earlier, he wasn't surprised when Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher and only ghost of the faculty, floated into the class through the chalkboard at the front of the room, though he was pleased to see Ichigo and Renji mask their surprise so well. Binns took his rightful place behind his desk and, without further ado, launched into his ever monotonous lecture on vampire rebellions, sending his students into a stupor within moments.

The entire class passed with little to no events whatsoever. Toshiro absentmindedly took notes on the lecture while his gaze roamed the room. The rest of the class, minus Hermione, sat in their seats, heads on their desks on top of their folded arms, eyes closed in blissful slumber. Some of them were even dreaming, their faces scrunching and morphing as events took place in their subconscious. What he wouldn't give to be as oblivious to danger and as carefree as his classmates. Sometimes being a captain was hard but he didn't get where he was by taking the easy route.

The next class passed just as eventless, except this time Toshiro hardly noticed anything going on around him, much less what the professor was saying. His mind strayed back to Rangiku and Rukia. He had passed Rangiku's class in the hall as they made their way up to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Toshiro hadn't been able to speak to her as they passed but if he remembered hers and Rukia's times-tables correctly, and he had, then Rukia would have just finished with the boggart and Rangiku's class would be there now. What would happen? What had happened to Rukia? Was she alright? Surely Professor Lupin would have the sense to keep the boggart away from the two remaining transfers. If it's really mandatory, then perhaps the professor could give them a private lesson, one without curious onlookers. Wouldn't that be better?

"Toshiro." Toshiro snapped his gaze back to Neville, who had tapped him on the shoulder insistently. "Come on, it's time to go."

Toshiro blinked and glanced around the room. Students were rising out of their seats and heading out into the hall, the room emptying quickly as everyone made their way down to lunch. Apparently time had passed much quicker than he had first realized as his thoughts carried him away. He silently rose from his seat, noticing that he hadn't even bothered to pull anything out of his bag, and followed Neville and the straggling students out into the hall.

"You okay?" Neville asked as they headed down the stone staircase to the Great Hall. "You've seemed distracted ever since we left Binns' class. What's wrong?"

Toshiro shook his head. "Nothing really. Just thinking of how Rangiku and Rukia's Defense classes went."

"Oh, that's right." Neville said thoughtfully. They headed towards the Ravenclaw table and Luna. "I forgot it was their turn today. Well, you can ask Rukia when she comes down for lunch. Hi, Luna."

Luna looked up from her latest upside down copy of the magazine Toshiro had found her reading in the bookstore, _The Quibbler_. She gazed at them with a startled expression but smiled pleasantly all the same. "Hello, Neville. Hello, Toshiro. Lovely weather so far, isn't it? And today's classes were quite intriguing."

"What did you have today?" Toshiro asked as he and Neville took a seat opposite her, the little captain quickly scanning the front cover. Something about a monkey being born inside out, a bat with a turtle shell, and singing _Bimpykins_, whatever those were.

"Charms and Herbology." She responded lightly. "I was rather disappointed that there weren't any _Shuckles_ hiding amongst the mandrakes. But I supposed they would be hard to catch and dangerous around children."

"Riiight." Neville said uncertainly. "Anyways, I can't wait for our turn at Herbology. I'm excited to learn what we'll be working with first. You know, Professor Sprout told me there would be interesting plants for our first class and she said there were some new ones coming in soon. I wonder what they are."

"There he goes." Toshiro muttered, not unkindly. "Now he'll never stop talking."

Neville's round cheeks flushed and his bottom lip stuck out in a pout. "Hey!" he said in affront. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"When we received our times-tables and you realized when our Herbology class would take place, you went on and on all the way to Potions about the plants you did last year and the year before. And I didn't even ask. You didn't quiet down until we got within eye sight of the dungeon door."

Neville's blush deepened. "Sorry. I just really like Herbology."

"So I gathered." Toshiro responded. He shrugged. "But at least you have a passion for something. And from what I've read in the textbook, the subject sounds rather useful. Now all you have to do is direct some of that passion into your potion making and you'd be all set."

Neville groaned. "Please don't mention Potions. I can't believe you talked Snape into giving me a potions test. I'm going to fail."

Toshiro sighed exasperatedly. "Neville, you'll be fine. Quit acting like such a baby. If you don't start standing up for yourself, you'll be destined to have people like Snape walk all over you for the rest of your life. Is that what you want? Do you _**want**_ to be a doormat your whole life?"

Neville shrugged, his gaze now focused on the goblet in his hand. "No." he muttered.

"Then stop scaring yourself into a moody, teenaged, bump on a log." Toshiro snapped. "You're going to give me an ulcer."

Neville blinked and glanced up at him curiously. "_Can_ you get ulcers?" Toshiro gave him an _I'm dead. What do you think? Besides, you're missing the point._ look. "Oh, right."

Toshiro rolled his eyes and glanced up as Rukia entered the hall and took a seat beside him. "Classes went well." She said without hesitation. She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and took a drink before continuing. "I didn't have to participate and neither did Rangiku when I asked. He said he'd find a substitute assignment for us if we didn't want to do the boggart session in private."

"I've been meaning to discuss that issue with everyone. I want to wait for a time when all of us will be available at the same time." Toshiro responded.

Rukia removed her ring. _What about tonight, before Urahara's class? We could speak with him too; get his input on events. He may be an idiot sometimes, but he still knows his stuff._

Toshiro nodded, removing his ring as well. _Sounds like a plan. I'll let Ichigo and Renji know. Inform Rangiku._

"Hey, Toshiro?" Neville asked as the two replaced their rings. "Do you think you could teach me how to speak Japanese? It might be interesting and even fun to learn a new language."

Toshiro thought about this a moment. "Maybe. We'll see. We speak in our native tongue in order to have a sense of privacy. But under the circumstances, it might not matter, since children are so nosy that I wouldn't doubt some of them are currently brushing up on their translating spells in order to eavesdrop."

"Eavesdropping is very rude." Luna commented.

Toshiro nodded, pouring himself a cup of tea and taking a sip. "That it is."

* * *

After lunch, the third year Gryffindors made their way to Charms, run by Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw and just as tiny as Toshiro, as Neville thoughtlessly pointed out upon entering the room. Toshiro glared him into silence before he could say anything that would endanger his health as the two headed towards a window halfway to the back of the room.

"You know, I don't think I should even bother asking you where you want to sit anymore." Neville commented as they took their seats and began pulling out their Charms textbooks and their wands. "You always go straight towards the window. I bet if I ever had to find you in a class I don't have, all I had to do would be to look towards the window. Although your hair kind of stands out on its own anyways."

"Gee, thanks." Toshiro said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Professor Flitwick explained to the class that they were going to work on reviewing the past spells for the transfer students before moving on to the next spell they were to learn. By the end of the lesson, it was quite clear that Toshiro was one of the top students in Charms, having mastered every spell they were to learn so far faster than even Hermione, much to her dismay and the amusement of the rest of the class. Ichigo and Renji seemed to be pretty neutral with the spells, though it was hard to figure, since they kept trying to out show the other.

"It's just kind of funny." Neville was saying as they made their way down a flight of stairs, heading towards the classroom that would be housing their new class. "I heard a rumor that Rukia was really good in Charms too but Rangiku was terrible. I heard she made every desk in the room disappear. Professor Flitwick had to summon them and it turned out that she had sent them to the bottom of the lake. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from you guys but I don't think I expected Renji to send Ron out the window. It's a good thing you were right next to it and was able to levitate him back into the classroom before he hit the ground. That would have been horrible. And you got us twenty points for quick thinking and the correct use of a levitation spell, as Professor Flitwick said."

"Points are irrelevant. And Renji just needed to remember not to put too much emphasis in his spells." Toshiro answered lightly. It had been a close call. When Toshiro had spoken to him after the incident, he had explained that he got carried away and used the spell the same way he would use Zabimaru. That wasn't good. If they kept that up, who knows what their wands would end up doing? Their wands weren't alive like their Zanpakuto. "Like we've been saying for a while now, we're still getting used to doing things your way." They arrived outside the designated classroom and Toshiro glanced left and right before moving closer to Neville and saying in a low voice, "And between you and me, we've never used wands. You know why."

"Oh, that's right." Neville said in a hushed voice. "But then what did you use?"

Toshiro shook his head as he spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione approaching out of the corner of his eye. "It doesn't matter right now."

"Well, that was an interesting class." Harry said with a grin as they waited among the rest of the class for the door to open.

"Interesting for you, maybe." Ron said with wide eyes. He was obviously still shaken. "I almost died." He turned to Toshiro. "Thanks again for saving me back there." Toshiro shrugged.

"I told you I was sorry." Renji said from behind them. They turned to find him and Ichigo approaching, Ichigo still laughing at a scowling Renji. "It's not my fault I used too much energy. I'm not used to doing things this way."

"What way?" Hermione asked curiously.

Thankfully Renji was saved from having to say anything more as the classroom door opened and the students entered. The room was a calming cream color, much like the coloring of their parchment, with caramel colored stripes about an inch in width running vertical around the room every three inches. The only wall that wasn't colored was the one they were entering from. This wall was all glass, like a long rectangular mirror found in a dance studio, reflecting the rest of the room and all of its wide-eyed occupants.

"The floor is really squishy." Neville whispered while bouncing on the balls of his feet. Toshiro glanced down at the dark red, almost black, carpet beneath their feet and pressed down with his heels. The floor was indeed _squishy_. He frowned as Neville continued. "It almost feels like walking on marshmallows. You know?"

"Hm." Toshiro muttered with a nod as he and the rest of the class made their way around the room. Toshiro claimed one of the windows and turned to observe the students that decided to attend this class. Most of the class consisted of Gryffindors, including the Weasley twins, their friend whom Neville called Lee Jordan, the Weasley girl Ginny, and the group Harry named as the Quidditch team. A large amount of Ravenclaws were also present, including Luna, and a smaller group of curious Hufflepuffs. Toshiro was both surprised and annoyed to see Draco Malfoy and his little squad of Slytherin followers standing in the farthest corner from the rest of the mass of students. Something was bound to go wrong with that group amongst the class.

"Taicho?" Rangiku asked as she approached. She looked towards Urahara, who was seated quite contently on a cushion on the ground, sipping tea as his eyes roamed the class. Toshiro nodded and turned to Neville and a now present Luna.

"I'll be right back. We need to speak with Urahara for a few moments." He said.

Neville nodded. "Got it." Toshiro nodded as Neville and Luna sat down on the squishy carpet, the other students slowly following suit, and then led the way towards Urahara. Neville watched them go and turned to Luna. "I wonder what this class will be about. And what we'll be doing for today and tomorrow."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be quite fascinating." Luna said. "After all, they are a completely different culture."

"Do you think we'll learn spells in Japanese?" Neville asked, turning his attention back to the transfers. "Look at the way their mouths move; they talk so fast."

"Have you been able to pick anything up since they've been here?" Luna asked.

Neville nodded. "Actually, I have. I learned that _gaijin_ means foreigner, Ichigo used the word _baka_, which Toshiro said roughly means idiot, and Rangiku used the word _ningen_ and Toshiro said that means human. Oh, and of course _taicho_ means captain. Rangiku said that was Toshiro's nickname."

Luna nodded. "It suits him."

Neville nodded as the transfers turned and headed back towards them. Urahara stood and walked up to stand in front of the class. "My, this is quite the turnout. I'm glad so many of you have decided to try out this class. It will be quite a bit different from what you're normally used to, but I assure you that I will try to make it as understandable and _**as**_ _**safe**_ as possible. But before we begin, I'm afraid something must first be done."

Urahara headed back to the little table he had been sitting next to, a thick blanket wrapping around it like a skirt. He picked up an odd-looking brush, dipped it onto an ink pad, and made a few quick strokes on a sheet of rather thin looking white paper. Then he picked up the sheet, along with a large stack of the same white paper, and began passing them around the room, giving Neville the one he just finished and ending with Draco.

"These, boys and girls," Urahara said pleasantly as he stood once more before the class. "Are health forms that I must insist your parent and or guardian sign giving you permission to attend my class. You see, I don't want to be held liable if you get injured because you didn't listen to me when I told you not to do what would get you hurt. I know you're not really stupid enough to do something so, well, stupid, but just to be safe. Think of it as a health contract denying me from all accountability. 'Kay?"

Toshiro glanced around the room, noting most of the occupants wearing similar expressions of confusion, shock, apprehension and interest. He looked back to the front as Urahara cleared his throat. "Also, if your parent and or guardian would like to sit in on one of our class sessions before signing the waiver, they are more than welcomed, as I've already cleared it with the headmaster. You and they will have until the twenty-fifth of this month, two Saturdays from tomorrow, to decide. Our first official class will begin October first. No signed permission slip, no class. And I _will_ check for forgery. The only exception would be if I got a face to face acknowledgement from your legal guardian. Once your slip has been signed, turn it in to your head of house, and they in turn will deliver it to me."

A sudden movement flickered in the corner of Toshiro's vision and he turned to find Hermione with her hand in the air. Urahara nodded to her. "If this is a safety concern, why didn't you give one to each of the transfers?"

Urahara's lips stretched into a smirk and his eyes glinted mischievously from the shadow the brim of his hat cast over the top half of his face. "Because unlike you, my dear, they don't have a choice. They're in this class whether they like it or not."

"Oh." Hermione said in a small voice and Toshiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes when she sent a worried look in their direction.

"Now then." Urahara said with an innocent smile. He clapped his hands together and looked around the class, looking, in Toshiro's opinion, like a tiger trying to decide which victim to pounce on first. "The first thing we will be working on, to give you all a taste of what is to come, is exercising of the body. And don't worry about missing dinner. Until class officially starts, we're more than likely going to be ending relatively early for a while. Now, can anyone think of an effective way to exercise physically?"

Hermione shot her hand in the air, followed a few seconds later by several muggle-borns. Urahara nodded to her again. "Do you mean like push-ups? And sit-ups?"

"Exactly. And those are some good exercises to begin with. Can anyone else think of any others? Don't worry about raising your hands; just shout out anything that comes to your mind. Don't be shy now." Urahara smiled cheerfully, pulling the little wooden fan out of a sleeve and twirling it around his fingers.

"Jumping jacks."

"Jogging?"

"Suicides." The rest of the room paused and stared at Ichigo like he was insane. "What? Haven't any of you ever heard of suicides?"

"You mean, like in soccer?" Dean asked thoughtfully.

Ichigo nodded. "Exactly."

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"Suicides are when you run from one end of the room to the other, touch the line or the wall or whatever, and run back to the other side of the room again and repeat." Dean explained. "They do it in soccer practices and basketball and I think a few others as well. It really puts a strain on your calf muscles."

"These are all great suggestions." Urahara said. "Now that we've decided on what we're going to do, let's begin."

"Wait a minute." Draco called out. He sneered scornfully at Urahara. "Exactly what is physical exercising going to accomplish that magic can't?"

"You really think so?" Urahara asked in amusement. He surveyed the class before settling his gaze to Crabbe. "Could you come to the front of the class, please? That's it."

Crabbe hesitantly stepped forward until he was standing before Urahara. Urahara maneuvered him until he was standing where he wanted him, in front of the entire class. Then he turned to the transfers. "Rukia. You seem like you could handle this. Why don't you step up?"

Rukia nodded and stepped up to them with a cold stare directed at Crabbe. Urahara positioned her to stand directly in front of Crabbe, their size difference extremely pronounced. Once they were positioned the way he wanted, Urahara backed away, indicating the class to do the same. "Now then, I'd like you both to take out your wands, please. Think of this as a duel. Do what you can to make your opponent fall first. You can use magic and or your body; your choice. When I say go… Go!"

Before Crabbe could react, Rukia twisted to the side, shouted "Expelliarmus!" and pointed her wand at her opponent. Crabbe's wand flew into the air, Crabbe's gaze soaring up with it. Without skipping a beat, Rukia whirled around, bent low, and kicked Crabbe's feet out from under him. She knelt down on one knee beside the boy, who lay sprawled on his back, and pointed her wand directly above his heart. Crabbe's wand landed on the ground beside the pair, the clatter seeming to echo around the silent room.

"Excellent." Urahara cheered, clapping his hands and breaking the stunned silence. "That was wonderful."

Rukia straightened up and pulled the taller boy to his feet. Crabbe shrugged her off and stomped back to where the other Slytherins were standing, a deep scowl on his face, mirrored by his house mates. Rukia rolled her eyes at the immaturity and walked back to the others, glaring at Urahara as she passed. Urahara winked at her before addressing the class once more.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the advantages of being physically prepared as well as magically." He turned to Draco but continued to speak to the class as a whole. "Without your wand, you're useless if you can't fight physically. Sure you can learn wandless magic and all. But in an attack, your body reacts before your mind does. For example."

Urahara stepped up to Neville, who fought the urge to take an instinctive step back. Quickly, Urahara brought his hand up and snapped his fingers directly in front of Neville's face. Instinctively, Neville flinched and backed up against the wall as far as he could go. Urahara grinned. "See? I wouldn't have actually hit you but you didn't think about that, did you? When someone steps up to stand directly in front of your face, invading all personal space, your first impulse is to back up, right? Even though you know they're doing it to get a reaction out of you, you can't help wanting to back away. It's a natural reaction; a reaction of self-preservation. The instinct to survive. If someone aims a punch at your face, your immediate reaction would be to either hit them first or duck, correct? But if you're not fast enough, it would be pointless to even try."

Urahara returned to the center of the class. "But enough of that for a while. Let's see. How about we start with agility and work our way from there, shall we?" And with that, the class began. Urahara split the class into four large groups, Toshiro and Rangiku with Neville, Luna, Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron; Ichigo, Renji and Rukia with the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, Angelina, Katie, Alicia and Oliver; the small amount of Hufflepuffs merged with the little group of Ravenclaw, and Draco grouped with Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Blaise, and Millicent.

Urahara had the first group, Toshiro's group, work in one corner of the room, their tasks being to work on fighting human-shaped punching bags without wands while they fought back. The second group, Ichigo's group, worked a rock-climbing wall in another corner while a little rock-like creature hurled an endless supply of boulders down at them, attempting to knock them back to the ground. The third group, the joined group of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, carried 30 pound sacks of tea on their backs while weaving through a forest of stone pillars that fell towards them as they passed. Group four, Draco's group, worked the main event. They had to run from one side of the room to the other while trying to dodge the tickling spell cast towards them by their reflections in the mirrored wall. Urahara had jinxed the mirror so that their reflection shot the spell at its counterpart in random order while running along with them.

"Why tickling?" Blaise had asked irritably, wrinkling his nose in distaste as Pansy was hit with the spell by her reflection and sank to the ground in a fit of laughter.

"Because I had to think of something harmless." Urahara explained. "Besides, I know a lot of people hate being tickled. But don't worry, it won't be that simplistic once this class starts for real."

The class continued this way, everyone switching obstacles every twenty minutes or so until each group had participated in each course at least twice. With nearly half an hour left of class, Urahara called it quits, gathering the panting students to the center, where goblets of water had been prepared for them. As the students drank gratefully, Urahara explained, "Just to let everyone know, Fridays aren't going to be as easy as it was today."

He waved his wooden fan and a small box the size of a shoe box landed on the floor with a very heavy thump for its size. He walked over and lifted out a small black strap, showing it to the class. "There are several of these. Each one goes on each of your wrists and ankles. There are little pockets going around the strap." He reached into the box again and pulled out a small grey stick an inch long and as thick as a quill. "This is a stick of lead, weighing at a single pound. You will be wearing these straps with a single stick of lead in each. That's one extra pound on each wrist and ankle. You will wear them all day, every day. A spell will be placed on them so that they will not come off and will not be damaged by any of the elements.

After a while, the courses will change, becoming more difficult and more complex. At the same time, another stick will be added to each strap. At the end of the year, you should be able to function just fine with five pounds on each wrist and ankle. That's twenty extra pounds. Your final will be a sort of obstacle course completed without the straps at all. You'll be surprised with how light and agile you'll feel after those extra twenty pounds come right off." Urahara placed his fan against his temple. "It almost feels as if you could fly. It's quite exhilarating. Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow will be a completely different lesson, so be surprised. And don't forget to have your guardian sign those slips."

* * *

"Wow." Neville panted as he and his group headed to dinner. He wiped a layer of sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. "That was hard. And crazy."

"I actually worked up a sweat." Ron chimed in enthusiastically. "And I'm not sore at all."

"You will be." Toshiro assured him. He and Rangiku and the other transfers were the only ones who weren't panting and sweating as if they had just returned from a marathon inside a sweat shop. "Tomorrow morning, your muscles will be screaming at you in rage, mark my words."

"Is this what you normally do every day?" Hermione asked curiously as they entered the Great Hall. "For your original class, I mean?"

"Hardly." Toshiro scoffed as he and Neville paused from following Luna to her table. "This is nothing compared to what we're used to. Consider this a warm up."

"You're kidding, right?" Neville asked as they made their way to the Ravenclaw table. Toshiro raised an eyebrow at him. Neville winced. "No, you're not. Ouch, that's got to be rough."

Toshiro shrugged as they sat down. "We're used to it. We started out the way the class is going now, but we've advanced a lot further. Just be glad you're not in Kenpachi's group. Now that's a workout straight from hell."

"Kenpachi?" Neville asked curiously. "Is that the person you were talking about yesterday? With a little girl with pink hair or something like that?"

"Yes. He's one of our teachers and specializes in battle tactics." Toshiro took a bite of his rice and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing and continuing. "He's actually not too bad except that he might be a little dangerous around children."

"Why?" Luna asked curiously.

"He has a hard time knowing when to quit and knowing when too much is too much." Toshiro smirked. "He'd most likely try to get everyone in the school in on his type of training and that requires things like fighting trolls single-handed or breaking this whole table with your fist."

"I can't do that!" Neville exclaimed in alarm. "I don't think anyone can. No one human, at least."

"Perhaps he's not human." Luna said thoughtfully. Toshiro and Neville paused and glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes before looking back to her. "Maybe he was bitten by a magical creature and now he has the strength of that creature but he's afraid of the ridicule he'd get if he were found out and so hides it from everyone, even your school."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Yeeaah, let's go with that." Neville snorted into his soup bowl and quickly covered it with a fit of coughing. Luna remained oblivious, eating her teriyaki steak thoughtfully.

"Must be lonely." She murmured mournfully. Toshiro and Neville stared at each other and then looked away, resisting the urge to laugh.

* * *

The next morning, Saturday, Neville woke from a strange dream. He had dreamed that his friends had died and had come back as demons and Toshiro and the other transfers had transformed into giant warriors, shining in gold, each carrying a sword with a very sharp blade. Toshiro had been the captain and the brightest and he had swooped down from the clouds and sliced each of Neville's friends into thousands of little pieces right before his eyes. Neville had begged Toshiro and the others not to hurt his friends but Toshiro had told him that his friends were gone. The little pieces that were Harry gathered themselves back together and Harry told Neville that he had to choose between them and Toshiro. Neville couldn't choose at first, until he saw that pieces of Harry's skin were starting to fall from his face and arms. Before he could make a decision, the sky had shone a bright white and then the old man from Toshiro's boggart came down and grabbed Toshiro. The black haired man from Renji's boggart, the grey version of Ichigo and the man that had looked like Sirius Black also descended and grabbed Rangiku, Rukia, Renji, and Ichigo. Then they dragged them all up to the sky, ignoring Neville's plea to let them go. Neville tried to run after them but tripped and fell down a dark hole. That was when he had awakened and quickly swiped back the curtains of his four-poster and swished back Toshiro's without thinking, eager to prove to himself that the smaller boy was safely in his bed.

Toshiro squinted into the bright light that fell over his eyes as the curtains were drawn back forcefully. He just barely made out the shape that was Neville. "What are you doing?" he mumbled sleepily, whipping at the tears that had been forced to the surface because of the light.

"Oh, u-um, s-sorry." Neville whispered, hastily shutting the curtains and blocking the light of day once more.

Having caught the sound of relief in Neville's voice and now being wide awake, Toshiro sighed and sat up. He disentangled the blankets from his legs, pushed his curtains aside, and lurched out of his bed and over to Neville's. He pushed back the curtains to see Neville sitting on his pillow with the blankets wrapped tightly around his legs, his knees held tightly against his chest with his arms. "O-kay, Neville; I'm up. What's wrong." He whispered exasperatedly.

"Sorry." Neville mumbled quietly, eyes downcast. "It's nothing."

Toshiro sighed and headed back to his bed. Neville looked up and watched him reach under his pillow and pull out his wand. Then he came back to Neville's bed and climbed up, closing the curtains behind him, shutting out the rest of the room. Then he cast a silencing spell over the entire bed before settling back against one of the bed posts at the foot of Neville's bed. "Alright." He said in a normal tone, eyeing Neville expectantly. "Let's have it."

Startled, Neville just sat there and blinked. Rolling his eyes, Toshiro lurched forward and smacked the back of his friend's head. "Ow!" Neville cried, bringing his hand up to the spot that had been struck. "What was that for?"

"For being a nuisance." Toshiro snapped. He settled back down against the bed post and crossed his arms over his chest. "You wake me up, nearly blind me with the light of the stupid sun, and then leave without telling me what you obviously want to say. So just say it."

Neville blinked a couple times before breaking into a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"And will you stop apologizing already?" Toshiro said exasperatedly.

"Sorry." Neville blinked and covered his mouth with his hands. "Sorry."

Toshiro pointed his wand at him. "Say sorry one more time and I'll hex you." Neville bit his lip but refrained from saying it again. Toshiro nodded and placed his wand back in his lap. "That's better. Now, what was the reason you so unjustly woke me up and in such an undignified manner?"

Neville cast his gaze back to his still upturned knees. "Um, well. It's stupid."

"I'll decide that." Toshiro said. "What's got you so bothered this time?"

Neville sighed in defeat and quickly told Toshiro about his dream. He kept his eyes downcast throughout his telling and didn't look up until he was finished and Toshiro had yet to speak. "To be honest, what bothered me the most was seeing you guys being dragged away and the thought of never seeing any of you again. I mean, yeah it was disturbing seeing my friends dying and stuff but you guys are my friends too. Or at least you and Rangiku; I'm not really sure much about the others. I didn't like having to choose between you. I know it was just a dream, but when I woke up, my first thought was to make sure you were still here. It was obviously too crazy to be true but it just felt so real. And what if you guys do get sent back to your world? I know it's bound to happen; you guys don't really belong with the living. I know that." Neville sighed and folded his arms over his knees, resting his chin on top. "I'm not looking forward to the end of the year. One step closer to the end of the year just means one step closer to the day you guys leave. I doubt we'll ever see each other again."

Toshiro stared at him thoughtfully. "Does it really bother you that much?"

Neville looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, it does. I know it probably doesn't mean much to you, but you were the first real friend I'd ever had. The first **real** friend. I like being around you guys; you're the most awesome friends I could have. I mean, who else could say that their best friend is the captain of a squad of warrior souls? Who else could say that said captain trusted them enough to reveal such an important secret? I've never been trusted with anything that important in my life. Gran always said she wasn't sure I'd make anything of myself. For the longest time, I believed her. I believed Snape whenever he said those hurtful things to me about not being good enough. But you've already shown me that I can be better than what everyone thinks of me. Before, I didn't really want to try because I felt like every time I did, something was always there to knock me down, so why bother? But now I **want** to try. I **want** to do better. I want to prove to everyone that I **can** make something of myself. But mostly, I want to prove to myself that I can do it. I don't know what it is, but you guys are bringing out the best in me. And I like it. I like how it feels to be able to stand up for myself with the confidence I'd never had before. I guess your attitude on life is a bit inspiring."

"It's good you feel so confident but it's not all us. It's you too." Toshiro shrugged. "You decide what to do with your life, not the people around you. They just inspire you and motivate you. But in the end, the final decision is always up to you. We've been around long enough to realize that and that's why we act and think the way we do. We've seen too much death, too many wasted lives, to worry about inconsequential things this world throws out."

Neville sighed again. "You want to know something? In my dream, when I had to choose between going with you and going with the undead Harry, I couldn't decide. I mean, I like Harry and the others. But, I don't know, now that I think about it, if I was given the option again, I would choose to go with you guys. I just felt really bad when I saw you guys going away in my dream."

"Well, like you said, we're bound to leave eventually." Toshiro said. "We don't belong in the living world. We did once upon a time, but that time has passed. Now, we only enter the human world to collect the souls that have departed from their bodies and need to be taken to Soul Society before they turn into hollows. Otherwise, we stay in Soul Society and keep an eye on everything from up there."

"When I die, will you be the one to get me? And will I know it's you?" Neville asked curiously.

"Probably not." Toshiro amended. Why lie to the kid? "Not everyone remembers everything from when they were alive. You do for a while but eventually enough time passes that you start to forget."

"Do you remember when you were alive?" Neville asked.

Toshiro paused before shaking his head. "Not much. I remember snow. And cold. Not much else. I sometimes think I see flashes of what might be memories of my living past, but I can never be sure and I don't always remember the flashes enough to piece them together. After a while, I just dismiss it, since dwelling too much on that stuff could drive a person insane."

"That sounds so sad." Neville said. "Don't you ever get lonely?"

"Not really. I have Rangiku and Ukitake and Momo. And the rest of my squad." Toshiro shrugged.

"Who's Momo?" Neville asked curiously.

"None of your business." Toshiro snapped.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Neville asked with a teasing grin.

Toshiro glared at him. "No, she's not. She's a childhood friend."

"Then why didn't you just say that when I first asked?" Neville asked innocently. "Instead of saying none of your business, which sounds like you're hiding something."

Toshiro scowled. "I'm going down to breakfast." He huffed and turned to take off the silencing spell.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Neville said, reaching out to stop Toshiro from leaving angry. Unfortunately, Neville's legs were still bound tightly with the blanket, causing him to lose his balance and topple over into Toshiro and making them both fall over the side of the bed and down to the floor. Neville had grabbed onto the curtain in an attempt to keep them from falling and only succeeded in pulling it, and the entire banister, down with them, the wooden posts snapping with several loud cracks.

"Neville, I will give you to the count of three to get off of me and then I'm going to send you flying out the window." Toshiro ground out. "One."

Neville scrambled to get off his smaller friend and backed up against his nightstand. "Sorry. I slipped."

Toshiro pushed himself up onto his elbows and scowled at him. "I figured." Then he pushed himself up to his feet and turned to find the rest of the room's occupants staring at them in surprised silence. His scowl deepened. "Can I help you?"

"Um, what were you two doing?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"Tutoring." Toshiro lied easily. "Neville's got a Potions test to prepare for and he needs as much study time as possible, since Snape is the one giving it."

Ron's eyes widened in alarm, along with the rest of their dorm mates. "Test? What test? We have a test in Potions? But we just got here."

"Not you; Neville." Toshiro snapped irritably. "Neville has a private test he needs to prepare for."

Seamus looked to Neville's now ruined bed and then back to Toshiro suspiciously. "So then where's his cauldron? And his textbook, if he's studying?"

Toshiro sighed and cast Neville an _Are they really this stupid?_ look. Neville cleared his throat. "Um, Toshiro said that it made better sense to study well enough to be able to do the potion without using the book too much. And since he knows how to make a lot of the potions as well as Hermione, he's the one teaching me. Without the book."

"Makes sense to me." Harry chimed in from the foot of his bed. He pulled on his cloak and turned to Ron. "If we're going down to breakfast with Hermione, we better hurry or she'll leave without us."

Harry's comment snapped the other boys out of their momentary confusion and suspicion and began finishing their tasks of getting ready for the day. Toshiro turned back to the broken bed and sighed before waving his wand and repairing the posts and curtains. Then he turned to Ichigo and Renji's beds and scowled. "Get up, you two. You can sleep after breakfast, but right now, it's time to get up. The day has started."

Ichigo and Renji groaned as they pushed themselves out of bed and began getting dressed. Toshiro rolled his eyes and started getting himself ready for the day. Once he was finished, he and Neville headed down to breakfast and the start of the new day. As he descended the stairs, half listening to Neville yammer on about his upcoming Potions test, Toshiro's mind continued to deter back to the discussion he and the others had had with Urahara before class had begun. According to Urahara, Yamamoto wanted all of the shinigami to participate in the boggart lesson in order to experience its effects first hand and learn to defend themselves against it. Yet he agreed that they should not do this in public and was currently writing to Dumbledore with the request that they partake in private lessons.

Not spotting Luna at the Ravenclaw table when they entered the Great Hall, Toshiro and Neville decided to spend breakfast with their own house this morning. Half way through their meal, by then the majority of the school were now present, the morning post arrived and the usual parade of owls descended in front of Toshiro, landing in the spots of the table Toshiro had habitually prepared for them. By now, the rest of the school was starting to accept the horde of owls for the transfers to be a routine thing and therefore were not as shocked as the first morning.

Toshiro distributed the usual packages and letters from home to their appropriate owners and picked up one of the letters addressed to him, habitually shoving the usual box of sweets toward Neville. Toshiro quickly scanned the contents of his letter, which was from Ukitake, and then drained the rest of his tea before gathering the rest of his mail and rising from his seat, beckoning Ichigo and Renji to do the same. Neville looked up and started to stand. Toshiro stopped him. "Hang on, I haven't told them yet." He whispered. He took a few seconds to think before continuing. "We're heading outside to talk real quick. I'll tell them about it then. Meet me in the common room in about an hour." Before Neville could respond, Toshiro had gone, stopping to tap Rangiku from the Hufflepuff table and Rukia from the Ravenclaw table on the way out.

Once outside, Toshiro headed towards the lake and climbed up onto a medium-sized boulder. Ichigo and Renji sat on the large, moss-covered log beside the boulder, the three of them starring out at the lake in silence. A few seconds later, Rukia and Rangiku silently approached. Rangiku climbed up to sit beside Toshiro on the boulder while Rukia squeezed herself between Ichigo and Renji on the log. The group sat in a comfortable silence, each finding peace in the others' presence.

Finally Toshiro broke the silence, slipping off his ring before speaking. "_I got a response from Captain Ukitake regarding our wands and zanpakuto._" He said in Japanese without turning from the lake. "_According to him, Sou-taicho Yamamoto and Captain Kurotsuchi have finally figured out how to use the spell to merge the two without damaging either. He has sent the spell and instructions for it in a letter, which I received just now at breakfast. We will start by practicing the casting of the spell without wands, like we did for every other spell. Once we have perfected the casting and wand motions, we will meet in Urahara's classroom at midnight to cast the spell for real._"

"_Good_." Renji commented quietly. "_I wasn't feeling very comfortable at all without Zabimaru. It felt like a part of me was stuck in another dimension or something and I had no idea what I was going to do without him. It'll feel good having him by my side again._"

"_I agree._" Rukia said with a nod. "_It just hasn't been the same with just this flimsy stick for backup._" She held up her wand, a slight look of disdain on her face. _"I still can't believe all the magic in the air is making normal people see our Zanpakuto. I don't really understand it, though. I don't understand how normal humans could see our zanpakuto when no one else has ever been able to see it before. We used to be able to wear our swords with no problem."_

"_It's something about the magic in the air_." Toshiro said. "_I haven't figured it out yet. But something about the magic around this school and all of the other magical dwellings we've been to so far have something in the air that can reveal our zanpakuto to the public. That was one of the things I had checked when I first went to Diagon Alley to purchase the rooms. So far, Ukitake hasn't been able to tell me anything about why it is the way it is but he did say that Captain Kurotsuchi was working on it._"

"_Well, either way, I'll feel much better once I have Sode no Shirayuki again_." Rukia said solemnly. The others nodded in silence.

After a few more minutes of silence, Rangiku spoke. "_But that's not all you want to talk to us about, is it Taicho?_"

Toshiro remained silent for another few seconds before responding, turning his head towards the log and those sitting on it. "_Yes, there is. Rangiku already knows, but I need to inform you three. Neville now knows about us._"

"_What_?" Rukia exclaimed in astonishment, Ichigo and Renji echoing her a millisecond later. Renji leapt to his feet. "_He knows? How? What_ _do we do_?"

"_Relax._" Toshiro said calmly, gesturing for Renji to sit back down. Once Renji had retaken his seat, Toshiro continued. "_It's alright. I've taken care of it. I've sent a letter to Ukitake and he has agreed with the idea that Rangiku has come up with. Basically, he will be allowed to keep his memories of who and what we really are, and in return, he will help us keep an eye on Harry and learn as much as possible about the on goings of this school and so forth. He could be a good asset on this mission._"

"_You sure you're not just being soft_?" Ichigo asked boldly. Toshiro turned a sharp glare to him. "_What I mean is, you seem to be getting pretty close to this kid, like a friend or something. Are you sure you aren't forming an emotional attachment with this kid and aren't just trying to protect him? Not trying to insult or anything; just trying to be sure._"

Toshiro glared harder at Ichigo, the temperature in the air dropping and frost forming on the edge of the lake closest to the boulder. "_No, I am not forming an emotional attachment with him. I'm helping him out by building up his confidence and in exchange, he is providing me with information on this school that can be used for later. That's it. Nothing more. Got it?_"

Ichigo held up his hands, as if in surrender. "_Alright, alright. I didn't mean anything by it; I was just asking. Geez, relax and get your temperature mood swings under control before you kill everything in the lake._"

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at him for a moment before slowly bringing the surrounding temperature back to normal and allowing the frost to melt from the edge of the lake. Once he was finished, he huffed and turned to address the rest of the group. "_As I was saying, Neville is now in on most of it. He asked me earlier if I would teach him Japanese. At the time, I hadn't really planned on it, but after thinking it through a bit, I've realized that by teaching him Japanese, we would be able to speak to him without worrying too much about eavesdroppers. So that's what I'm going to do. Any objections?_"

The others shook their heads. "_Good._" Toshiro continued. _"Then I'll go get started with him and you guys can do whatever it is you need to do, like go back to bed._" Toshiro stood up and stretched before turning back to the others, pulling his ring out of his pocket at the same time. _"I'll let you guys know the spell for our wands after I've read it through a few times and have gotten a feel for it. Probably by sometime tonight. Do not practice the spell in public. I don't think I have to tell you that, but just to be on the safe side. Watch yourselves._" Then Toshiro slipped on his ring, the others following suit, and jumped off the boulder, making his way back up to the school.

* * *

Neville looked up for the third time from the book in his lap _Herbs Too Powerful for Potions_, and sighed once again when it was not Toshiro who entered through the portrait hole but another random fellow Gryffindor. He was eager to hear what the others had to say about him being in on their secret and it was hard not to become impatient. Toshiro was in charge, meaning that despite his size, the others had to listen to him. But what if they rebelled? Every leader ends up with a few bad eggs, just read a few history books. What if they objected to the idea of an outsider, a human, nosing about in their business? What if they refused to allow him to be involved? What if they tried to rise up against Toshiro?

Neville mentally shook his head. No, he couldn't think that way. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts. They wouldn't do that. Rangiku was the one who suggested it. If she was on Toshiro's side, maybe they might listen to him better than if he were expressing the idea on his own. And if they didn't…no he wouldn't think like that. Toshiro could take care of himself. He was captain ranked, after all. And Rangiku seemed to really support and care about Toshiro. Neville was sure she would back the small captain up if it came down to a fight. He hoped there wouldn't be one, though. At least not on his account. He didn't want to cause any problems for his new friend.

Neville looked up when the portrait door swung open once more and admitted the person he had been waiting anxiously to see since breakfast. Neville closed his book as Toshiro approached and took his usual seat on the windowsill. Before Neville could ask for the verdict, Toshiro spoke. "_Konnichiwa__._"

Neville blinked. "Huh?"

"Repeat it." Toshiro said tersely. "_Konnichiwa__._"

"C-cona-con…" Neville stuttered, trying to form his mouth around the foreign word.

"_Kon-nee-chee-wah._" Toshiro said slowly. "Say it. _Konnichiwa._"

"K-koneecheewah." Neville tried again.

"Close but try not to put so much emphasis on the word as a whole." Toshiro instructed. "Put more emphasis on the e sounds, where the i's would be. It's kon-nee-chee-wah."

"K-_konnichiwa_." Neville said hesitantly.

Toshiro nodded in approval. "Good. _Konnichiwa._ It means hello. It can also mean good afternoon." Toshiro lowered his voice, forcing Neville to lean forward in order to hear what was being said. "I'll start teaching you simple words, only about two or three at a time. For today, it will be just this one. Practice on your own or to one of us when you pass us in the hall or something. Try not to use it too often in public. I don't need random students coming up to me and asking me to teach them Japanese as well. Understood?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah. But, so does this mean the others have accepted me? Or at least accepted that I know?" he whispered.

Toshiro shrugged. "Whether they accept you or not is irrelevant. But yes, they more or less have accepted that you know more than the rest of the school, besides the teachers." Of course the teachers; how could Neville have forgotten that the teachers might know the truth about the Soul Reapers, too? "We will also practice before bed and during or before or after breakfast, whichever works best. Just remember that you will not be learning _everything_, as there are still things we **can't** tell you about."

Neville nodded hastily. "Oh, I know. There are some things that are beyond private."

"Exactly." Toshiro said with an approving nod.

* * *

The rest of the day passed relatively peacefully, in Toshiro's opinion. No pestering students, no nagging teachers, and nothing to give him a migraine. He could really get used to not getting migraines once a day, as was becoming custom within Division Ten's perimeters in Soul Society. This was turning out to be a damn good day so far.

Ten minutes to five-thirty that evening, Toshiro and Neville headed to Urahara's classroom with Harry and his two friends in tow. Up ahead, Toshiro was able to make out Draco Malfoy, walking with his group of Slytherin followers. Toshiro turned his head slightly in the direction of Harry as said boy mumbled something about Malfoy bound to cause trouble in this class. Toshiro made a mental note to keep an eye on the group during this class as they made their way through the door of the classroom and towards the area of the room they had gone to the day before.

The classroom still had the padded floor but the walls were now completely white, with the glass wall still in place at the front of the room. It seemed oddly white and a bit foreboding, what with the floor looking remarkably like blood. Toshiro glanced around to where Urahara was seated at his low table, contently sipping tea. He couldn't help wondering what the man had in store for the class today. How on earth was he going to pull off a Kido class without blowing their cover or giving too much away? Something was bound to go wrong.

Urahara stood and approached the class at exactly five-thirty, standing cheerfully before them. "Good evening, class. Today, we're going to do things a bit differently. I was planning on teaching you a form of magic we use in the east. Unfortunately, your ministry thinks it's a tad too dangerous for you all and so has requested that I teach something a bit _safer_. This lesson will still include much of the Japanese magic, but Kido is out, unfortunately. So, without further ado, let's get started." As an afterthought, Urahara added. "Oh, and my students, the ones I had brought with me, are a little busy at the moment and so won't be joining us this evening. Actually, they may not be joining us for the entire month of September, as they have more pressing matters to attend to first. Just a thought, incase any of you were wondering."

Urahara smiled pleasantly before clearing his throat. "Now, what we will be working on is a form of Japanese magic where we channel our spiritual energy into a form of… weapon, so to speak. However, it doesn't have to be a physical weapon. For example," he pointed to Toshiro and Rangiku standing with Neville and then pointed to Renji, Ichigo and Rukia standing with the Weasley twins. "These five are not only in this specific group because they all tapped into their powers in the same year, but because their teacher specializes in the type of weapon they produce, which, believe it or not, takes the shape of a sword."

Toshiro jolted as if he had been shocked with a bolt of lightening. The others reacted just as badly. _What the hell is he thinking?_ Toshiro thought furiously, casting glances around to the other transfers. They all cast nervous glances to Toshiro, as if awaiting instructions.

"Now, now." Urahara said pleasantly to Toshiro and the others, as if sensing their discomfort. "It's not like you could keep it a secret forever. They were bound to figure it out sooner or later, once the class started. So, let's see. Toshiro, would you like to demonstrate?"

Toshiro glared at him. "No." he said coldly.

The room gasped in shock. No one ever spoke back to a teacher, especially not like that. But Urahara seemed unfazed, smiling pleasantly. "No, I suppose not. Well, no matter. We'll work on it later. For now, let's just work on mental exercises until we've established a set class."

And so, the class settled down on the individual pillows to begin their lesson. A wooden block appeared before each student and a metal pin the size of a sewing needle stuck from the top, the point obviously sharp. Their task for the night would be to focus on creating a glow at the tip of the point, using only their minds. A spell had been cast, Urahara had explained, on the pin so that wands would be of no effect. By the end of the lesson, only the transfers and Hermione were able to create a steady glow, though several others, Neville included, were able to create a slight spark every once in a while.

"That was great." Urahara said at the end of the class. "I didn't expect so many of you to be able to create even a spark so soon. Perhaps there's hope for this class after all. Well, that's all for now. Class dismissed and enjoy your dinner. Until next time."

* * *

The next few weeks passed with little to no trouble. Classes took place as normal and several students had already turned in their permission slips for Urahara's class, signed by their parent or guardian. A couple parents were intrigued enough by the offer itself to actually attend the class, much to the dismay of their child. Neville had turned his permission slip in the Monday after their first and second class, claiming that his Gran was glad he was finally putting some enthusiasm into something other than plants. Harry, at first, was dismayed about needing his permission slip signed in order to attend the class, but Toshiro fixed that quite easily. He had taken Harry's slip, pretended to send it to Ukitake, and then secretly forged the signature before giving it back a few days later. When Harry had asked, Toshiro had explained that Ukitake was the guardian of the transfers and since Harry had stayed with them for a portion of the summer, Ukitake's signature was acceptable to Urahara.

There weren't any major events until the nineteenth of September. Apparently, Rangiku had found out about Hermione's birthday and had bullied poor Neville into letting her into Gryffindor Tower in the middle of the night, using her leverage of saving him from a memory erasing. Once inside, while the rest of the school was sleeping, Rangiku had decorated the entire common room in different shades of pink, blue, red and gold. The unpoppable bubbles she had learned to make from Mrs. Weasley in the Leaky Cauldron floated along the high ceiling and great big bubbly letters that read **HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMIONE** floated around like a train through the air. Balloons, also in pink, blue, red and gold, were floating along the stairs and all the way to the portrait hole, each one jinxed to cheer and applaud every time Hermione walked passed. She had even bullied Neville, before he had gone up to bed the night before, into casting a spell on a few regular balloons that read "Happy Birthday!" so that they followed Hermione wherever she went for the whole day. By the time she had gotten down to the Great Hall that morning, Hermione's face was flaming with embarrassment but she was still good-natured all the same. Fortunately, it was a Sunday and that meant Hermione only had to endure the balloons and people singing "Happy Birthday" off-key through the halls and at meal times, instead of throughout each class. The monstrosity of a cake Rangiku and the house elves had created for dessert after dinner was almost enough to give Toshiro a stomach ache, though the rest of the school enjoyed it greatly.

The event repeated itself, though much louder and **much** more distractingly on October first. Rangiku had decided to throw herself a massive party for her "sixteenth birthday", which had been on the twenty-ninth of September. However, because it coincided with a regular class day, Rangiku had forced herself, as was highly suggested by Toshiro and Professor McGonagall, to wait until the first, which would be a Friday, and therefore less likely for her to disturb classes.

By the end of the day, the entire school had recognized Rangiku as the partier and party planner. The majority of the school population, teachers included, tried desperately to hide their birthdays, as everyone had learned that no one was safe from the powers of Rangiku and her love for partying. Only the Gryffindors, mostly the transfers, and mainly Toshiro, knew that behind closed doors and in the privacy of her friends, did Rangiku really party, drinking sake until late into the night, enjoying the feel normalcy. If only her drinking buddies were around. Then the party would really get started. And that was a party that the school could definitely do without.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter is nice and long, extra long in fact. So hopefully you guys would forgive me for taking so dang long posting this. A lot has happened lately. Classes have been hectic, one of our dogs, our beloved Basset hound named Humphery (hum-free), died after nearly 12 long and eventful years, and one of my guinea pigs was pregnant and needed constant supervision until the babies were born and old enough to be away from their mother. Also, my younger sister is pregnant and had her baby shower and is due any day now. Not to mention SSI wanted to check up on me after moving out of my parents' house and just one thing after the other. I hardly had any time for anything at all, much less writing. But I'm working on it and I know I sound like a broken record by now, but I have not forgotten this story, nor will I ever abandon this. I will keep writing until it is done, even if I have to super glue my fingers to the keys like in an episode of NCIS. Love that show.**

**So anyways, tell me how I did. You know the drill. Any and all criticism is appreciated. Oh, and the tickling charm thing during Urahara's class, as well as any other tickling bits I've put in here were requested by one of my readers, who's stuck by me through almost every single story I've written so far and seems to have an addiction to tickling. Lol So, thanks. Also, all updates about this and any of my other stories will be posted at the beginning of my profile from now on. That way I can let you guys know what's going on while I'm writing and I won't get in trouble for posting author's notes as chapters. So start looking there for any updated news regarding this story or any others I'm working on. Thanks again.**

_**A silent prayer goes out to all who lost their lives in the Japanese earthquake and the Tsunami that followed. May God have mercy on their souls and bless those who lived to suffer the after affects. Our hearts are with the lovely country of Japan.**_

_Ningen ~ human_

_Gaijin ~ foreigner_


	20. Flying Lessons

**Over 400 reviews! Thanks everyone!**

**Disclaimers in the beginning chapters.  
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**Chapter Twenty: Flying Lessons**

The weekend after Rangiku's mini birthday bash went relatively peacefully, with Ichigo, Renji and Rukia hanging out with the Weasley twins outside by the lake, and Rangiku stalking around the school in search of a new party to throw. Toshiro hung with Neville in the dorm room or in their little corner in the common room, Toshiro patiently quizzing Neville on the word he had learned before giving him another. By the time Monday had come around, Neville had not only learned how to say hello, he had also learned how to say hello casually, how to say thank you in three different ways, how to bow politely and properly and how to say I'm sorry/I'm very sorry, which he uses quite often.

Neville headed down to the Great Hall by himself Monday morning, searching for Toshiro at the same time, who was nowhere to be found when Neville had awakened that morning. At first, he figured Toshiro had gotten up early and was already showering, but when Neville entered the bathroom, it was empty. After getting himself ready, Neville had reentered the dorm to find Ichigo and Renji waking up. He had asked the two if they knew where Toshiro had gone, but they said they hadn't. So now Neville was heading to the Great Hall alone, hoping his small friend was already there.

Neville entered the Great Hall and faltered, deflating a bit; Toshiro was not in the Great Hall. He was easy to pick out in a crowd because of his hair, but Neville was unable to locate him. "I don't understand." Neville muttered to himself as he forced himself to walk into the Great Hall. "Where is he?"

"Where's who?" said a voice behind him.

Neville jumped and whirled around to find his missing friend standing behind him with an amused look on his face, as if he knew exactly who Neville had been talking about. "Don't do that!" Neville hissed, placing a hand over his pounding heart. "You're going to give me a heart attack."

"Doubtful." Toshiro muttered, pushing past Neville and heading towards the Gryffindor table. "You're too healthy for a heart attack."

Neville stepped up to walk beside him. "You never know. Anyways, where've you been? You weren't in your bed when I woke up."

Toshiro shrugged as he and Neville sat at the end of the table, Toshiro at the edge with Neville beside him. "I had to speak with one of your teachers. A Madam Hooch."

Neville blinked in surprise. "Madam Hooch? About what? Oh – wait, is it about you guys and your flying lesson today? Is it canceled?"

Toshiro shook his head, pouring himself a cup of hot tea and grabbing a plate of scrambled eggs with toast. "No, it's still on but I had to let her know a few key things before she attempted to get any of us in the air with a measly stick and twigs. Like if flying is anything like Charms, then Rangiku needs to be at least a hundred feet from anything important, and let her know that we've never flown before." He leaned into Neville and gave him a pointed look, lowering his voice considerably. "At least…not on brooms."

It took a moment before Neville's eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh." He whispered. "But then what did you use before?"

Toshiro straightened back up and smirked. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Neville asked in confusion. Then his expression cleared. "_Nothing_? I want to see that."

Toshiro scoffed. "Of course you do." He took a sip of tea. "Hello." He said after swallowing.

"Huh?" Neville asked, his face full of confusion.

Toshiro looked pointedly at him. "Hello."

After a moment, Neville understood. Toshiro was beginning the Japanese lessons again. He always started by randomly saying the English form of the word or phrase that he had taught Neville, and Neville had to say the correct Japanese word or phrase. "_Konnichiwa._" Neville said, pronouncing the foreign word much more clearly than before.

"I'm sorry (informal)."

"_Gomen__._"

"Good Morning."

"_Ohayou_."

"Thank you (very formal)."

"Umm… _Domo Arigato_."

"When is that phrase used and what goes with it?"

Neville tapped his chopsticks against his bottom lip as he thought. He had just learned this phrase yesterday. "When someone does an extremely helpful deed for you, like going out of their way to do something. And you combine it with the correct bow of respect."

"What are the correct ways to a polite bow for men and women?"

Neville groaned slightly. He hated this part. He never completely remembered the correct ways to bow. And worst of all… "I don't actually have to bow this time, do I?"

"Yes, you do. That's part of the lesson." Toshiro said with a smirk.

Neville groaned and stood from the table, walking around to stand in front of Toshiro at the end of the table. His face began taking on a red tint as he stood before the small captain, self consciously aware of curious eyes landing upon him from the other students at the table. "W-well, I believe you're supposed to stand i-in front of the person, place your arms down at your sides-," Neville stuttered nervously.

"Demonstrate." Toshiro interrupted, setting his chopsticks down and giving Neville his full attention. He waited expectantly.

Neville blushed even harder as he placed his arms down at his sides, continuing the lesson. "Stand with your arms at your sides with your hands flat against the sides of your thighs and…and you bow your upper body, while keeping your eyes on their upper body." Neville's face went crimson as he demonstrated by placing the palms of his hands flat against his outer thighs and bent his upper body in the form of a bow.

"Don't forget to stand with your feet together. And for a woman?"

"The women cross their hands in front of their thighs with their left hand over their right hand."

"Right over left." Toshiro interrupted.

"Oh, right." Neville said with a wince. He always forgot that part. "Cross their right hand over their left and bow the same way as a man, bending their upper body while their eyes stay on the other person's upper body." Again Neville demonstrated, placing his right hand over his left and placing them against the his lap before repeating the bow.

"Where should your eyes be in the beginning of the bow?"

"Making eye contact with the person you're bowing to." Neville recited, his eyes cast to the ground nervously.

"Repeat the bow with the appropriate eye contact required." Toshiro ordered.

Neville stifled a whimper when he straightened up and noticed that almost every pair of eyes from the Gryffindor table were upon him. He just knew the rest of the school was now watching; the sounds of silverware against dishes could no longer be heard. Neville locked eyes with Toshiro's and again bowed, moving his eyes to Toshiro's upper torso as he did.

Toshiro nodded in approval. "Good. At what angle should your body bend?"

"Between a fifteen and forty-five degree angle." Neville said, still in the bow.

"And what can you do to make a bow more and more polite?"

"Bowing slower and deeper makes the bow more polite."

Toshiro nodded in approval. "Good. Demonstrate once more. Masculine bow."

Neville sighed and straightened up again in time to see Toshiro stand from the table and face him. Toshiro stood with his feet together and his hands placed firmly on the outsides of his thighs. Neville suddenly found himself staring into the icy teal depths of the little captain's eyes and could almost feel a hint of the hardships Toshiro seemed to have experienced as they played deep within the blue-green orbs. Then the two of them bowed to each other, their bodies bending in a slow and swift arc, their eyes shifting from each other's eyes to the other's upper torso. Then Toshiro straightened and nodded once in approval before retaking his seat, allowing Neville to gratefully take his own, his hand shielding the rest of the room from view in embarrassment. "Very good. Thank you (informal)."

"_Arigato._" Neville answered, grateful to be getting back to the lesson. There was something about the way he felt while looking into Toshiro's eyes that seemed to bother him. Just what had Toshiro experienced to make his eyes look so… haunted? Neville didn't like that look. It was too painful, too…sad.

"When is this used?" Neville looked back at Toshiro as the sounds of breakfast continued, albeit with much more whispering than before.

"When someone does something helpful but not too much, like giving you directions. And you look them in the eye when you say it."

"Good. Thank you (casual)."

"Uh, _Domo._"

"When is this used?"

"For every day favors like opening a door for you or telling you if your shoe is untied."

"Correct. I'm sorry (formal)."

"_Gomen__nasai_ or _gomenasai_."

"Very good." Toshiro said with a nod as he finished off his plate of food and poured himself another cup of tea. "You're learning at a good pace. Put this much enthusiasm into your next Potions class, and you should be passing with flying colors."

"Or not." Neville scoffed.

Toshiro rolled his eyes but resisted the urge to contradict him. He didn't want to get into it with Neville over the same thing they always seemed to get into it about. So instead he gave Neville another Japanese word to learn. "Okay, this is a word used to say good bye. There are actually three main ways to say good bye. One is _Sayonara_. _Sayonara_ is pronounced Sah-yo-nah-rah. It is the most basic form of good bye. The second and third way are both similar to each other but one is more formal than the other. _Mata ne,_ pronounced just like it sounds, mah-tah ne, means 'see you again' but more to like the shop keeper of a store you go to daily, or a family member. It's casual but still shows respect where it's due. Then there is _Jaa ne,_ pronounced jah-ah ne, which means 'see you', but this is used more towards your friends or classmates. When you say this, make the a long but don't say it like ah ah. You'll sound stupid. It's āā. Understand?"

Neville nodded slowly. "I think so."

"So then, see you again."

"_Mata ne_."

"Goodbye (formal)."

"_Sayonara_."

"See you later; see ya."

"_Jaa ne_."

Toshiro nodded, looking up when the daily post swarmed in through the windows. "Good. Practice and we'll test again soon. And, again, it'll be at random."

"Right."

* * *

After breakfast, the students attended their first lessons of the day. Draco, however, had more pressing matters to deal with than paying attention to what stupid Professor Flitwick had to say. Like what he was going to do to get back at that Hitsugaya brat. It had to be something good, something ingenious, something that would put him out of the running as the schools most respected. And he had to make sure blame couldn't be traced back to him, that was a key factor. But what could he do? How could Draco pull any kind of prank with that kid's little entourage around him twenty-four seven? And by entourage, Draco meant his other foreign buddies. Longbottom didn't count. Draco didn't have to worry about him. He was useless, the whole school knew that. Except maybe Hitsugaya. He seemed to think pretty highly of that idiot. But why? What could he have found so interesting about someone like _Longbottom_? He should have pulled allies with Draco, damnit! Oh, he'd pay. He'd definitely pay.

But wait, that was it! Hitsugaya seemed pretty close to Longbottom. And instead of everyone making fun of him for being friends with someone like _that_, they're acting like he's doing something noble. Ugh! But if bad things kept happening to Hitsugaya because of Longbottom, like a serious case of bad luck, he might decide to dump Longbottom. He might decide that Longbottom is bad for his image. Drop Longbottom, and he'll have no one. He'll be a loner. No one respects a loner. And once he drops Longbottom like a sack of rotten potatoes, he won't seem so noble after all and people will turn from him. They'll realize there's nothing special about him after all and turn back to respecting Draco, just like it's supposed to be. Yeah, that's what he'll do. But what to do first…

* * *

After the morning classes had ended, the students headed back into the Great Hall for lunch. Toshiro noticed, as he headed to the Gryffindor table, that the school was abuzz with excited whispers. Students were clustered in small groups, speaking rapidly and quietly amongst themselves. Wondering what was going on that had everyone in an uproar, Toshiro walked past the two girls that had been most interested in what Professor Trelawney had to say in class, and caught snatches of what they were whispering about.

"I can't wait; can you?" said one girl, whom he thought was named Lilac or Lavender or some color or flower like that.

"I'm excited too. I wonder how they'll be?" said the other girl, whom he remembered as the Gryffindor Patil twin.

"I wonder which ones will be better than the others?" said Lilac/Lavender or other.

"Maybe they'll all be good." Said the Patil twin. "I can't wait to see them. This should be amazing."

Not really understanding what they were talking about, he turned to Neville walking beside him, who didn't seem to have heard the two girls. "What is everyone so excited about?" Toshiro asked as they made their way to the seats they had sat in during breakfast. "Is something special supposed to happen today?"

Neville glanced around and then turned his gaze to Toshiro as they sat down. "I think it's your flying lesson after lunch. Everyone is eager to see how you'll do."

Toshiro blinked incredulously. "Is that all? They just want to see us fly? Why? What's the big deal? It's not like they've never seen someone learn how to fly before."

"I know, but I think it's because of how crazy you guys have been with magic so far." Toshiro sent him a glare. Neville chuckled. "What I mean is that you guys have been as smooth with magic as first years. _I _know it's not really your faults, but the rest of the school doesn't. They just know that Rangiku is a disaster in Charms and Rukia sucks in Transfiguration. Renji sent Ron out the window in Charms and both he and Ichigo are crazy in Potions. And you were awesome in every class you've been in so far. You're all unpredictable and everyone is just curious to see how you'll do with flying, which has nothing to do with wands."

"You know what they say about curiosity." Toshiro muttered bitterly.

"I know, but cut them some slack. You're all still new to them." Neville said.

"Hmph!" Toshiro scoffed. "They're all nosy. Wait until they find out that we'll be flying on the field that you people play your sport on. Then we'll see how they like the show."

"The Quidditch pitch?" Neville asked curiously. "Why over there? That's so far from where the flying lessons are normally held."

"I know." Toshiro smirked. "It's funny; these nosy students won't be able to watch us after all. How disappointing for them."

"But why so far away?" Neville asked.

"I told you we needed a place that we can practice safely with Rangiku being within a hundred feet of anything important." Toshiro replied. "Apparently your professor felt that the school and the safety of you children qualified as important." He teased.

Neville scowled. "You're a child too, you know. On the outside at least. So I wouldn't be talking." Neville stuck his tongue at him. "By the way, I kind of wanted to watch your flying lesson too. I guess you'll just have to tell me about it."

Toshiro's smirk deepened. "Actually, there is a way you can watch." Toshiro looked around them, searching for eavesdroppers, and then leaned in close, Neville doing the same. "I placed a charm on the curtains of your bed this morning before I left. It should have activated by now. Go up to your bed when the others and I go to do our lesson. Pretend you need a quick lie down so people will leave you alone. The inside curtain at the foot of your bed will appear white. When you're ready, tap the curtain with your wand. It'll act like a projection and show you what's going on down on the pitch. You can watch the lesson from there."

Neville's eyes widened. "Wow, where did you learn to do that? That's got to be advanced magic."

"It is, actually. While I was at the book shop in Diagon Alley, I had purchased a few extra books with useful charms, spells and jinxs." Toshiro shrugged. "They're a bit more difficult but not totally useless."

"Do you think you can teach me some of them?" Neville asked.

Toshiro shrugged again. "I guess so. But not right now. Whenever I have time, I think."

"Okay."

* * *

After lunch, the students used the small break before their next class to gather in front of the school and face the Quidditch Pitch as the foreign students made their way to the arena, lead by Madam Hooch, the school's flying instructor and Quidditch referee. Many of the students groaned once they realized that they weren't going to be able to see much of what was happening on the pitch from that distance. Neville chuckled as he snuck back into the castle and headed up to the Gryffindor common room and up to the third year boys' dorms. There, he slid into his bed and drew the curtains closed, blocking out the rest of the room. Making himself comfortable, he tapped the milky white curtain at the foot of his bed and watched in fascination as the whiteness dissolved and a second later, the Quidditch Pitch came into view. Neville could see Toshiro and the others clearly as they assembled in a row in the middle of the pitch, Madam Hooch setting each of the school brooms down beside each student, and then stood facing them.

"Now, there will be no wand waving in this lesson." Neville was surprised with how clear her voice could be heard, almost as if she were standing in the room right beside him. "You will use only your inner magic and will your broom to rise. You will do exactly as I say, when and only when I say. Any disobedience whatsoever, and you will only **wish** you had been expelled."

Madam Hooch paced in front of them, eyeing each student as if daring them to try her. "Place your right hand out in the air directly above your broom, will it to rise, and say 'UP'!"

There was a chorus of "Up!" as each student attempted to bring their broom to their hand. Unsurprisingly to Neville, Toshiro successfully willed his broom into his hand, his voice commanding and without room for question. _Just like a captain_. Neville thought in amusement. He was surprised, however, when Ichigo was also able to raise his broom to his hand without problems. Renji's broom didn't move an inch and Rukia's broom merely rolled over. At first, Neville thought that Rangiku's broom had vanished but after looking closer, he realized that it hadn't disappeared; it had turned into a pile of dust in the exact place where her broom had been.

"Stop!" Madam Hooch shouted. She stepped forward and examined what remained of Rangiku's broom. "Ash, Miss Matsumoto? How on earth did you turn your broom into ash?"

"Um, I honestly haven't the slightest idea." Rangiku said apologetically. She looked down at her pile of ash. "But I think I can fix it. Let me give it a try."

"Just a second, Miss Matsu – " Madam Hooch started.

"Up!" Rangiku shouted again, placing her hand back above the pile of ash. Immediately, the pile of ash rose from the ground, swirling as it went, and formed back into a broom in her hand. Rangiku smiled happily at the broom. "That's better." She turned to grin at Madam Hooch but faltered at the disapproving glare. "Sorry." She said, abashed.

Madam Hooch stared at her a moment longer before moving back in front of her tiny class. She turned her gaze to Renji and Rukia. "Again." Both shinigami shouted the command again and this time the brooms rose, somewhat reluctantly, into their hands. Madam Hooch nodded in approval. "Good. Now that you have your brooms in your hands, we will begin the flying. Mount your brooms by placing your legs on either side with the broom tucked firmly underneath you. Place your hands firmly near the end of the handle. When I blow my whistle, you will kick off from the ground, hover steadily until I say stop, and then land safely on the ground. Mount your brooms." They did so. Madam Hooch raised her whistle to her lips. "Three, two, one…"

At the sound of the whistle, the five exchange students kicked off the ground, soaring up to hover several feet above Madam Hooch's head before she blew the whistle again and the five of them landed safely and gracefully back on the ground. Madam Hooch nodded in approval. "Excellent. Now that you know the basics, I want each of you to rise back into the air and do a few laps around the field, showing me what you can do. Then come back down when I say. Now go."

Toshiro rose back into the air, the warm afternoon breeze whipping against his face as he soared up to hover steadily, several feet higher in the air than before. He gazed around at his companions, noting the amused expressions on each of their faces. Then he turned and headed off in a random direction, soaring around in a large, wide circle around the pitch, doing a combination of corkscrews and loop-da-loops in the process. He did several upward spirals, several downward spirals and even some zigzags while flying upside down, all while still flying in the large circle around the pitch. From a distance, his sharp hearing could just make out the excited whispers of the students near the entrance of the school, though he wasn't able to pick anything out. He wondered how Neville was reacting and the thought brought a small smile to his lips.

* * *

Neville watched in rapt attention, a broad grin spread across his face, as he watched his friend soar through the sky with such grace, as if he'd ridden on a broom his whole life and knew exactly what he was doing. _He looks so care-free_. Neville thought in wonderment. _Like he's having fun_. Neville wondered if Toshiro would consider trying out for the Quidditch team but quickly stomped on that idea. Toshiro didn't exactly strike him as the team player type of person. At least, not the _**sporty**_ type of team player.

Neville's gaze shifted from Toshiro to the others and landed on Renji and Ichigo, both of whom were obviously attempting to one up the other by seeing who could perform the showiest moves. Ichigo was currently performing an upward corkscrew when Renji suddenly shot straight up through the loops from the bottom just as Ichigo angled his own broom to shoot down from the top, causing them both to nearly collide with the other. Neville's eyes widened in horror as both boys pulled their brooms out of the other's path at the last second and steered themselves in opposite directions. Neville sighed in relief and shifted his gaze to Rukia as Ichigo shot directly in front of her path, causing her to yank her broom back or risk colliding with him. Then she gave chase as Ichigo soared off, obviously laughing his head off, though Neville couldn't hear it.

Suddenly Neville realized that he had yet to spot Rangiku. Searching the view from his bed curtain, Neville suddenly spotted Rangiku hovering in front of one of the green and silver Slytherin banners on the Slytherin's side of the bleachers. A closer look showed that Rangiku had her wand out and was currently tapping several different spots on the banner with a small frown. Wondering what she was doing, Neville watched as Toshiro suddenly appeared a foot behind her just as the banner spontaneously combusted, flames soaring and covering the entire banner. Toshiro reached Rangiku and grabbed her by the collar of her robes, pulling her away from the flames and pulling out his own wand at the same time. He waved his wand and pointed it at the blazing banner. Immediately the flames smoldered and died, leaving a charred and extremely sooty black cloth in its place.

Madam Hooch's whistle sounded and the group soared back down to the ground just as the image on Neville's bed curtain faded, leaving it blank and scarlet once more. Groaning in annoyance and wishing that Toshiro had told him a head of time that there was a time limit on the spell, Neville leapt from his bed and raced down to the common room, out the portrait hole –ignoring the Fat Lady's disapproving remarks- and down the staircases to the Entrance Hall before bursting through the double doors, just as the students started making their way back inside. Neville caught snatches of conversations as he hurried passed, clutching the stitch in his side, all of them wondering if Rangiku had done it on purpose, deliberately burning the Slytherin banner as an act of House rivalry. Neville knew that the transfers neither knew nor cared about the House rivalries but he doubted the rest of the school did. Plus, she wasn't a Gryffindor, which is what most people would expect this sort of act to be from, seeing as it was a _**Slytherin **_banner. But then what the heck was she thinking?

Neville reached the end of the crowd of students and quickly side stepped Madam Hooch as she steered a sheepish yet annoyed Rangiku into the castle and up the staircase. Wondering if she was taking Rangiku to the headmaster or if she would be expelled, Neville turned and, spotting Toshiro and the others, quickly approached them. "What *_gasp* _happened?" he wheezed, gasping for air as he bent over with his hands placed on his knees.

"Neville, breathe." Toshiro instructed, startled by his friend so out of breath. "Did you run all the way down here?"

Neville nodded and took a few seconds to catch his breath before asking again in a calmer voice. "What happened? What was she thinking?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. "Obviously she wasn't."

"Huh?" Neville asked in confusion.

"She said she was trying to make the banner look nicer." Renji answered with a shrug. "Said it looked hideous and was just trying to make it look more appealing to the eye. But she sucks at charms, so it's not like it wasn't to be expected, really."

"She knows she sucks at charms; why even attempt?" Ichigo added. "She should have asked someone more capable."

"Well, what's passed is passed." Rukia said in a low and serious voice. She looked around, noting the absence of the rest of the students, and continued in a more quiet tone. "What's going to happen to her? The headmaster wouldn't expel her, would he?" She directed this last question to Neville.

"Um…well," Neville stuttered. "Honestly, I haven't the slightest idea. No one's ever done something like this before. She'll definitely get in trouble for destruction of school property and no doubt Professor Snape and the Slytherins will have a thing or three to say about this. But if she was trying to help, or at least she _thought_ she was helping, then the headmaster might go easy on her, since she didn't have any malicious intent."

Toshiro nodded. "That's what I figured. But I just hope she doesn't make things worse by insulting anyone. Professor Snape seems like the type to make a bigger deal out of something like this than is called for."

Neville nodded bitterly. "Oh, he definitely is. And so are the other Slytherins. Especially Malfoy."

"Let's just hope she watches her tongue." Toshiro said as he gently pushed passed Neville and headed ahead of them towards the double doors to the Entrance Hall. His scowl was audible as he mumbled, mostly to himself, "I just know I'm going to hear it from one or more of your professors, since she is my subordinate. _Damn_."

Ichigo chuckled as they followed him inside. "Someone's going to get a scolding." He said in singsong. The temperature dropped, though the young captain continued through the doors as if he hadn't heard. Ichigo cleared his throat nervously and looked up at the partly cloudy sky. "Nice weather we're having." Neville, Renji and Rukia snorted as the double doors slammed shut behind them.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for being so patient with me, guys! I am so sorry for the long wait. I won't be able to update often anymore, since my computer has completely crashed and I am currently borrowing my friend's laptop to type from now on until I can buy a new one. I'm so sorry. But as I said in my last chapter, I will be updating my profile every Monday or Friday with news on my stories updates. If you'd like to know how they are coming along, check my profile regularly.**

**As for this chapter, it was actually supposed to be several times longer than this but I really wanted to get a chapter uploaded, so I cut this one in half. The good news about this is that the next chapter is almost complete and will be posted before July 1****st****. I'm going to anime expo this July from the 1****st**** to the 3****rd**** and I won't be writing until I get back. Please be patient, as I am working as hard as I can to get chapters updated. Thanks.**

**Japanese words and phrases**

_Konnichiwa (Ko-nee-chee-wah) ~ _Hello

_Gomen (goh-men ~_ I'm sorry (informal)

_Ohayou (o-hai-yo) ~_ Good Morning

_Domo Arigato (doh-moh Ah-rri-gah-toh) ~_ Thank you (very formal) – (all 'thank you' phrases are accompanied with a bow) used when someone goes out of their way to do an extremely helpful deed for you.

_Arigato (ah-rri-gah-toh) ~_ Thank you (informal) – used for small favors

_Domo (doh-moh)~_ Thank you (casual) – used for every day favors

_Gomen nasai/gomenasai (goh-men nah-sai/goh-men-nah-sai)_ ~ I'm sorry (formal)

_Sayonara (sah-yoh-na-ra) ~_ Good bye (formal)

_Mata ne (mah-tah neh) ~_ See you again (semiformal)

_Jaa ne (Jaah neh) ~_ See you later; see ya (casual)

**Women bow with their hands against their laps with their right hand over their left. Men bow with their palms flat again their outer thighs. A bow is performed by first making eye contact (brief) and then bending your body between a 15 and 45 degree angle, simultaneously moving their eyes to the other person's upper torso. The deeper and slower the bow, the more polite.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the small lessons!**


	21. Accidents Aplenty

**A/N: Sorry everyone! I've been on a two month anti-electronic retreat (which I'm never doing ever again) and when I got back, I found all of your reviews to this chapter not being posted when I promised it would be. For some reason, FFN didn't load it correctly like I thought it did before I left. To make matters worse, when I tried to repost this chapter, I plugged my Flash Drive into the USB port and as soon as I did, my computer did something funky and erased every single document on the flash drive. I was so pissed, I was FURIOUS but most of all I felt so frustrated that I practically had a nervous breakdown and had to spend a couple of days in the hospital and with a psychiatrist, who had to help me calm down a bit. I guess I was just so overwhelmed by everything that's been going on since summer and all, what with a friend of mine ending up knocked into a coma by a hit and run, my grades for my classes sucking so bad this semester, financial difficulties, and just everything seeming to fall into my world all at once, that this was just the last straw for my mental stability. But after I learned a few tricks to stay calm, I went back and spent the last month or so copying every chapter that I had posted so far from every story on FanFicNet and saved it all onto a friends external hard-drive. Thankfully most of what I had written for this chapter and unfinished chapters to my other stories, I had written down in several different notebooks, so it wasn't a total loss. Then I bought a larger flash drive and saved it all on that.**

**Unfortunately this chapter and the next one are not **_**completely**_** how I wanted them the first time but there's nothing more I can do. Hope you enjoy this anyways and the next chapter will be up within the hour, I think. And the next one will be sometime before Christmas, I hope. As soon as I work out some last minute technical difficulties with a few things. I'll let you know more soon. Until then…**

**Disclaimers: Don't own Harry Potter, Bleach, the recognizable characters, the recognizable places, blah blah blah. You know what I don't own, don't make life more difficult for the both of us than it has to be. I'm not in the mood for it right now. Just shut up and read the frigging chapter.**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Accidents Aplenty**

By dinnertime, the entire school was buzzing with the news of what Rangiku had done to the Slytherin Quidditch banner. Most wondered if she had done it on purpose or accident, if she had lost her mind or if a particularly nasty Slytherin had upset her and she took it out on the banner. However, every Slytherin, especially Malfoy's group of lapdogs, theorized that it had been the Gryffindor's doing. They felt that since she was a Hufflepuff, and therefore not smart enough to think of some scheme like burning the Slytherin banner on her own, that one of the Gryffindors, namely Potter and his friends, had talked her into doing it. That had to be it. After all, she was just a Hufflepuff. What kind of threat could she possibly be?

However, where his house theorized the scheme to be thought up by Potter and the others, Draco had his own theory. He didn't think it was Potter, though the thought did cross his mind at one point in the beginning. No, he believed it was the doing of that transfer brat, Hitsugaya and his stupid transfer buddies. That had to be it. Draco had a feeling that Hitsugaya had been out to get him ever since he got here, ever since they met on the train those brief moments. No doubt Potter and the other two had told him about how Draco was respected by the other houses, especially Slytherin, because of his heritage. Draco had the greatest feeling that Hitsugaya was trying to take Draco's throne out from under him and this proved it. Hitsugaya was definitely trying to take Draco's place. Well, not if Draco had anything to say about it. It was time to put his plan into action. He just had to wait for the right moment. The timing had to be perfect. Timing was crucial.

Draco glanced in the direction of the Gryffindor table, zeroing in on the end of the table where Longbottom and Hitsugaya usually sat. Draco's eyes narrowed. Where was Hitsugaya? Longbottom was in his seat like usual and the other transfers were where they usually were, but Hitsugaya was nowhere in sight. Draco glanced at the Ravenclaw table, where the smaller of the transfer girls sat with that other transfer boy from the transfer teacher's group. He turned his gaze to the Hufflepuff table. The transfer girl that had burned the banner was still absent, meaning she was still with the Headmaster. Draco glanced at the staff table, feigning nonchalance, and noted the absence of four of the staff: Dumbledore was absent for obvious reasons, as was Snape, seeing as he's Head of Slytherin, and so was Sprout, also obvious why since she was Head of Hufflepuff house. But why was McGonagall gone? Yes, she was the Deputy Headmistress and yes the Slytherins were upset, outraged even, but surely the situation wasn't _that_ serious that they would require McGonagall as back-up? Seeing as McGonagall was gone and Hitsugaya was not in the Great Hall, Draco came to the conclusion that Hitsugaya was in with the headmaster and the other missing teachers. But why?

* * *

Toshiro stalked calmly back through the Entrance Hall towards the Great Hall, outwardly calm while fuming on the inside. As he had suspected, Dumbledore had indeed felt the need to question his control over his subordinate. She was his lieutenant after all and therefore his responsibility. His Head of House was present because Dumbledore felt she deserved to be, as he was still her student, dead or not. Same for, - what was her name? - Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff, Rangiku's house. And Snape, of course, because of the ruining of Slytherin property, in a manner of speaking. He was surprised however, that Snape hadn't thrown a hissy fit over the ruined banner as Toshiro had half expected him to. In fact, he remained rather passive, eyeing Toshiro almost studiously, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed slightly, as Rangiku explained her actions to the occupants of the Headmaster's office, the ruined banner lying on the desk in a pile of burnt cloth.

As Neville had theorized, because she hadn't intended for the banner to go up in flames, and since her intentions for the banner had been somewhat good, Dumbledore hadn't expelled her for damaging school property. Toshiro had a feeling the main reason for the decision was curiosity, since Rangiku had claimed that she could fix it and make it look even better than before and that if Snape and the other Slytherins liked it, that she would gladly make it her personal project to do the other banners. Curious to see what she would come up with, and after forbidding Rangiku from further Charms work outside the classroom unsupervised until she learned how to cast them properly, Dumbledore agreed. Then he had Rangiku step out of the office before he began questioning Toshiro on whether or not he could control his team efficiently. "I don't want to have to write to your superiors about the incident." He had said. Yeah, right.

Toshiro scoffed to himself as he entered the Great Hall behind Rangiku, who at least managed to look sheepish as she took her seat at the Hufflepuff table. Toshiro rolled his eyes as the other students at the table immediately began questioning her in excited whispers, and made his way over to the Gryffindor table, taking his place beside Neville.

"So, how'd it go?" Neville asked without preamble.

"As well as can be expected." Toshiro replied curtly. "She won't be expelled, but forty points were taken and she was given detention for a week, to be served by Snape as see fit."

Neville shuddered. "Ouch. That's rough. But I suppose it's not too bad, seeing as how it could have been much worse. But detention with Snape! I wouldn't want to be her right now."

Toshiro raised a white eyebrow. "You mean you would want to be her any other time? Neville, I didn't know you were into that sort of thing." He teased.

Neville flushed crimson and shoved his friend with his shoulder. "That wasn't what I meant." He snapped.

"I know. Though it is interesting seeing you all huffy." Toshiro smirked. Neville scowled and turned pointedly away from him.

"You're being mean; I'm not talking to you anymore." Neville said in mock annoyance.

"Rangiku is banned from using Charms outside of the classroom." Toshiro said at random.

Neville turned back around in surprise. "Really? Is she that bad at it? I mean it was only an accident right?"

Toshiro smirked again and asked innocently, "I thought you weren't talking to me?"

Neville sputtered before scowling with a huff. "You are so annoying!" he snapped. "What's with you right now? You're all snarky all of a sudden."

Toshiro shrugged and grabbed the nearest empty tea cup. "Still a bit annoyed from earlier."

"So you're taking it out on me?" Neville demanded.

Toshiro smirked. "Would you rather I be mean?"

Neville scoffed. "You mean you weren't before?" he asked bitterly.

Toshiro chuckled. "Of course not. Pass me the tea pot, please."

Neville grabbed the tea pot by its porcelain handle and was just turning around to hand it to his friend when the handle suddenly felt so hot that he yelped and tossed the pot out of his hand. Unfortunately the pot landed on the table's edge before toppling over into the young captain's lap, spilling its contents down his front. Toshiro leapt to his feet, the tea pot falling to the ground with a crash and shattering in a pile of porcelain pieces as Neville shook his hand in the air, forcing it to cool. Tea dripped from Toshiro's lap to the floor, forming a small puddle. The Great Hall quieted as the teachers and students turned to see what the commotion was about.

"If you were really that upset about the teasing, you could have just said so instead of throwing the tea at me." Toshiro muttered as he began carefully picking up the broken pieces of the tea pot and placing them on the table. Hermione hurried up to the pair and handed Toshiro a large wad of napkins she had gathered from the table.

"Are you alright?" she asked in concern. "It didn't burn you, did it? Are you cut?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, it wasn't that hot. Just very wet. And none of the pieces actually touched me."

"I'm sorry." Neville said nervously. "I didn't mean to; it was an accident."

"So you _didn't_ mean to throw the tea pot at me?" Toshiro asked sarcastically with a raised eyebrow. "Because it sure seemed like it. I mean, you literally threw it at me."

"I wasn't trying to." Neville replied in a small voice. "It was a reflex; the pot was really hot."

Hermione bent down and gingerly picked up the piece that used to be the tea pot's handle that was still on the floor. "It doesn't feel hot. It doesn't even feel warm. Are you sure it was hot, Neville?"

"Of course I'm sure." Neville replied. "I'm not stupid; I know what hot feels like and the handle was definitely hot. Except… well, it wasn't hot when I first picked it up."

Toshiro frowned as he used the napkins Hermione had given him to soak up the tea from his robes. "What do you mean? Did it just spontaneously heat up to the point that you would reflexively throw it?"

"As odd as it sounds, yes." Neville said. "At least, I think that's what happened. Or something like that. I'm telling the truth."

Toshiro's frown deepened and he placed the wet napkins on the table and took the handle piece from Hermione. Nothing appeared to be wrong with it, but that didn't mean nothing _was_ wrong. He reached out and picked up the bigger pieces of the pot from the pile on the table and looked them over as well. Nothing out of the ordinary there either. He turned to Hermione. "Are there any spells that can do something like that?"

Hermione looked thoughtful. "There might be. I know there are several different types of heating charms and some can be cast without immediate detection. Why, do you think that's what happened?"

Toshiro shrugged and placed the broken pieces back on the table. "It's possible. I believe Neville; why would he lie about something like this? He's not _**that**_ childish, I don't think."

"Hey!"

"So, it had to either be the pot or a third party." Toshiro continued, ignoring Neville's indignant cry. "I didn't see any flaws with the pot but that doesn't mean much. If it was done by another student, then the question is who? And why?"

Neville shrugged. "Maybe it was a prank."

The three of them turned simultaneously towards the opposite end of the table, where Fred and George Weasley sat, talking animatedly with their friend Lee Jordan. Hermione shook her head. "It couldn't have been them. They would have coped up to it by now. They're very proud of their pranks and jokes."

Neville nodded in agreement, eyes moving passed Toshiro's shoulder and landing on McGonagall, no doubt heading their way to find out what the commotion was about. "She's right, they are. But if it wasn't them, then who?"

Toshiro shrugged and looked over his shoulder. "Whoever it was, they must have had a reason. If they really mean it, they'll most likely try again, especially if they didn't get the reaction they were aiming for to begin with. All we can do now is wait. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go shower and I might as well change for bed, since I don't plan on coming back down." Toshiro turned to leave but stopped and turned back to the table. Without a word, he picked up another tea pot, this one full, grabbed an empty tea cup, and headed out of the Great Hall before McGonagall reached them, his head held high.

Whispers broke out throughout the Great Hall in the small captain's wake. McGonagall spoke to Hermione as Neville looked after his small friend. He wanted to follow but he wasn't sure he should. He still felt bad for practically throwing the tea pot at his friend. Toshiro seemed to take tea very seriously and it seemed to have a unique way of calming him down when he was stressed, Neville had noticed. Toshiro had seemed really agitated. Even though he said he believed Neville, he couldn't help wondering if he was still mad, which only made Neville feel worse.

It must have shown on his face, for Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder as McGonagall slipped her wand back up her sleeve and walked away, the remnants of the tea and tea pot gone. "You might as well go. You're going to be sulking the rest of dinner otherwise. Besides, it's nearly time to head up anyways. Just go already. I doubt he's really mad at you. You're his friend, aren't you?"

Neville smiled. "Thanks, Hermione." He said with a nod and then followed after Toshiro out the Great Hall.

* * *

Ron and Harry looked up as Hermione returned to her seat opposite them. "So, what was that about?" Ron asked curiously as she sat down. "I mean, besides from the obvious spilled tea. What happened?"

"Neville said that he had been passing the tea pot to Toshiro but he said while he was passing it, the handle started getting really hot and he dropped it by reflex."

"Is he okay?" Harry asked in concern. "He didn't get burned or anything, did he?"

"Toshiro or Neville?" Ron asked Harry.

Harry shrugged. "Both, I guess."

Hermione shook her head. "No, they're both fine, though Toshiro's now wet and Neville feels bad. But the weird thing is that it wasn't hot when I touched it." Hermione frowned. "In fact, Neville said that it wasn't hot when he first picked it up but it suddenly **grew** hot."

"How's that possible?" Harry asked quizzically. Ron shrugged beside him. He turned back to Hermione. "Do you think someone jinxed it?"

Hermione shrugged. "That's what Toshiro thinks. He believes Neville and he thinks someone purposely made the pot's handle hot when Neville touched it."

"Do you think that means Neville is a target?" Ron asked thoughtfully. "It wouldn't be much of a surprise, since almost everyone in the school kind of picks on him. Or at least they used to; ever since Toshiro started hanging out with him, not very many people bug or tease him anymore."

"I doubt anyone is stupid enough to risk Toshiro's wrath." Harry muttered. "You haven't been on the receiving end of one of his angry tirades." Harry shuddered at the memory of Toshiro shouting at him about parents and families and basically telling Harry to get his head out of his arse or else he'd do it for him. "For a little guy, he's scary when he's pissed."

Hermione looked at him reproachfully. "I'm assuming you're talking from experience?" she asked disapprovingly. Harry just grinned sheepishly. Hermione shook her head fondly. "Only you, Harry."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Harry snapped as Ron snickered beside him. Harry shoved him in the shoulder.

"You seem to have a habit of making people mad at you, mate." Ron clarified, still snickering.

"I don't do it on purpose." Harry pouted.

"Well, anyways, Toshiro said that if there really was someone who jinxed the tea pot, then there's a possibility they'll try again." Hermione jumped in. "He's going to keep an eye out for any more suspicious acts." She leaned in close and whispered, "I think we should do the same. It's always useful to have an extra pair of eyes or two."

"Or three." Ron said significantly, eyeing Harry and Hermione.

Hermione nodded. "We should probably head up to bed now. Dinner's almost over anyway." The other two nodded and the three of them rose from their seats and followed the small trickle of students with the same idea out into the Entrance Hall, heading up the spiral staircase and up to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

The next day was the beginning of several painful days for Neville. It started the day after the tea pot incident. Neville and Toshiro headed down to breakfast with the rest of the Gryffindors, nothing about the morning hinting that Neville's clumsiness and forgetfulness would suddenly start worsening. The two of them sat at the table, enjoying breakfast as usual while the morning post swarmed the hall from above. Neville looked up as an old looking owl descended upon the table in front of him, carrying a letter addressed to him.

"Oh, she finally replied back." Neville said excitedly as he took the letter from the owl and pushed some of his eggs off his plate for it at the same time.

"Who?" Toshiro asked as he sipped at his tea while scanning the morning paper in his hands. After seeing several copies lying around in the common room and finding a lot of the articles interesting, he had decided to start a brief subscription, intent on learning as much about the wizarding world as he could. What better way to learn from a community of beings than from their news?

"It's from Gran." Neville said as he tore open the letter and quickly scanned the contents. His grin widened as his eyes skimmed the page but he frowned once he reached the end, flushing slightly.

"What's wrong?" Toshiro asked without looking up from the article about a recall on all self-tying scarves. Apparently they had yet to learn when too tight was too tight. "I can feel your discomfort without even looking at you."

"N-Nothing." Neville muttered softly. He took a breath and forced a smile. "Gran seems to like you. I sent her a letter about you and how things were going so far. She says she remembers you from the book store back in Diagon Alley and thought you were pretty nice. She says she thinks you'll be a good influence on me and that she's glad I was able to make friends with you. You know, since I'm kind of a timid person. And she'd like to meet you in person again one day; maybe even for the holidays or something. I think she's taken a liking to you."

"That's all nice and dandy but you still haven't answered my question of what's got you so upset." Toshiro pointed out as he turned the page.

Neville flushed again. "It's nothing. She just reminded me of a few things I sometimes forget." Neville tried to put the letter into his bag. Toshiro's hand snapped out and snatched the parchment out of his friend's hand, eyes never leaving the paper. "That's mine!" Neville exclaimed half heartedly, though he made no attempt to retrieve it as Toshiro placed the letter in front of the newspaper and read.

Toshiro frowned as his eyes neared the last paragraph. His frown deepened as he reached the bottom and then he closed the newspaper and set it aside before balling up the letter, shoving it into Neville's half full goblet of juice and turning to him with a scowl. "What exactly is she getting at?" Toshiro snapped in a low voice.

Neville cast his eyes to the table top. "I'm sure she didn't mean it to sound bad." He muttered.

"I'm sure she didn't." Toshiro replied sarcastically. "She's your grandmother, isn't she? She's family?"

Neville nodded but didn't speak.

"So then how could she say something like that to you?" Toshiro demanded. "'Try not to be too much of a burden'? What kind of thing is that to say to your own grandson?"

"She's just being realistic." Neville mumbled softly. "You know I'm accident-prone. She just wants me to be a little more careful, I think."

"Then what's with the 'Try not to embarrass yourself or your family in front of people from a foreign country' crap?" Toshiro asked. "It's like she has no faith in you. All that 'don't forget' this and 'don't forget' that. It sounds like she thinks you're stupid."

"She doesn't." Neville insisted. "She talks to me like normal. But she knows I'm a bit slow."

"You're not slow." Toshiro contradicted. "If you were mentally slow, you'd be having problems with **all** of your subjects, not just some of them. You're good in the ones you like because they come almost naturally to you, don't they? Everyone has a specific subject they're particularly good with. It has nothing to do with being slow. You're a bit oblivious to some things but you're much sharper than you give yourself credit for. If your own grandmother thinks this lowly of you, then it's no wonder you have such little faith in yourself. I'm sure she had her fair share of misfortunes at this school, or whichever school she went to at your age. And if she hadn't had that many, then good for her. But she should remember that you are not her. You're not your parents, your grandparents, your aunts, your uncles, your classmates, your teachers; you're no one but yourself. You may have some qualities that are similar to other people, you may have the same blood as other people, but no matter how many similarities or how much blood you share with someone, that does not make you them. No one is the same one hundred percent, not even Siamese Twins. So she shouldn't have told you to take a few leaves out of my book and shape up or whatever the hell she told you. Don't copy me or anyone else."

Toshiro turned in his seat and grasped Neville's upper arms, giving him a few firm shakes as his teal eyes bore into Neville's own hazel ones. "Believe in yourself, Neville. You just be the best you that you can be."

Neville blinked with wide eyes. Toshiro stared back unblinking. Both of them were quiet, unmoving. Finally, Neville broke the stillness first, his face splitting into a grin and he started snickering. Toshiro snickered back and let Neville go as the other boy dissolved into laughter. "I can't believe you said that." Neville squeaked through his laughter. "That was so corny. What are you, my mother?"

Toshiro's eyes narrowed as he got his laughter under control. "If I was your mother, we'd have some problems."

Neville snorted. "Like gender?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes and the two of them finished their breakfasts on a happier note before heading up to their first class of the day. On their way up the spiral staircase, Neville suddenly stumbled and stepped into the trick step on the stairs. In his stumble, he habitually grabbed Toshiro's arm and accidently pulled him down with him. Both landed with their knees hitting the stairs, though with Neville's hitting awkwardly from his current position.

"Sorry." Neville muttered as the two of them straightened. Neville looked down at his now stuck foot. "I usually remember to step over this step. I remembered this time too but for some reason, I still ended up stepping in it."

"What are you talking about?" Toshiro grumbled as he rubbed his knee.

"What I mean is, I knew about this step." Neville explained. "I tried to step over it. But when I picked up my foot, it felt like I suddenly had a weight on it or something and I couldn't hold my foot up any longer."

"So what; you're saying the stairs magically pulled your foot down onto the trick step?" Toshiro asked sarcastically.

Neville paused. "Well, actually, yeah. That's exactly how it felt."

Toshiro turned and frowned at him thoughtfully. Then he pulled his friend's foot out of the stairs and led him the rest of the way up without a word. Neville didn't have any other problems until they were back out in the hall at the end of their first class. Neville slid his textbook into his bag as they headed down the hall to their next class. Just as he was closing the bag, the bottom burst and sent all of its contents scattering. One of his jars of ink shattered, sending ink splashing onto both of their shoes and the bottom of their robes.

"Sorry." Neville said as he quickly bent down and began gathering his belongings, scooping up loose parchment and quills. Toshiro bent down and helped his friend by picking up all of his fallen and ink covered textbooks. A few quick waves of his wand cleared all the ink from the books, parchment, and their clothing. Then he picked up the ripped bag Neville had set aside in order to gather his things, and inspected the tear.

Toshiro quickly waved his wand and repaired the tear before putting the textbooks back into the bag and handing it to Neville. "Don't worry about it. I think I'm coming on to something but I'm not entirely sure. I'll let you know once I've figured it out."

Neville blinked in confusion as Toshiro helped him place the rest of his stuff back into his bag. He didn't understand what Toshiro was talking about but didn't entirely feel the need to question him. It surprised Neville how easily he was able to trust Toshiro, the boy he had just met and who wasn't even human. The thought made him smile as he and Toshiro continued on to their next class.

Neville's sudden bad luck continued for the rest of the day, adding to the list of accidents: tripping over his own shoe laces that he swore he had just tied with a charm to keep them from untying, and sending them both to the floor when he grabbed Toshiro's arm to keep himself from falling; stepping on Toshiro's shoe laces and causing them both to fall when he bumped into Toshiro after the smaller boy had fallen; accidently stabbing himself with his fork during lunch and elbowing Toshiro in the ribs when he instinctively jerked his hand away; tripping during dinner as the two of them approached the table and Neville fell against Toshiro, causing said boy to fall against the table and land with his chest into a large bowl of mashed potatoes; and many other accidents that continued on throughout the week.

"Hey, Toshiro." Ichigo muttered that Thursday evening as he, Toshiro and Renji watched Harry leave out the portrait hole with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Something about starting practices. Ichigo and Renji turned back to the small captain. "What's been up with you and Neville? He's been tripping up all over the place. Like yesterday when he made you both fall down the last three steps on the stairs on the way to breakfast."

Toshiro glanced up towards the stairs as Neville descended from the boys' dormitories. "I'll tell you guys later but I can say that I'm almost certain that none of this is Neville's fault. I'll know more when I do a bit more observing." He gave the two a meaningful stare and the two nodded mutely and walked away.

The bad luck continued throughout the next few days with the most significant accident so far being when Neville almost sent Toshiro falling from the top of the Astronomy Tower that Thursday night. If not for Toshiro's quick reflexes, and quicker mind, he wouldn't have been able to use the new spell he had learned in the advanced jinxes book to levitate himself back up before hitting the ground. By Saturday, the entire school knew of Neville's sudden bad luck and started avoiding direct contact with him, treating him as if he had a fatal and infectious disease. Toshiro grew annoyed with some of the whispering about how Toshiro would do better to stay away from Neville. Others, mostly the girls, gushed about how brave and loyal he was to stick with his friend through such trials, which irritated him even more. The two girls who seemed to hang from Professor Trelaweny's every word were the most troublesome, whispering as dramatically as the batty teacher about Toshiro's death being in the stars and Neville being the cause of it.

It wasn't until Sunday night, during the second half of Urahara's class, that Neville had his worst bout of bad luck and someone other than Toshiro suffered the consequences. The class was just finishing up the lesson for the night when Urahara decided to have a pop quiz, wanting to test each student on how well they were able to produce a spark, if at all. He went through several students, some with satisfying results like Harry, Draco, Luna, and Ginny, before Urahara finally got to Neville.

Immediately, the class backed as far as they could from the boy, with the exception of Toshiro, Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, Rangiku and Luna. "Cowards." Ichigo muttered as they watched Urahara test Neville. Neville, Toshiro was pleased to see, not only made a spark, but a defined sphere, colored a mixture of white and grass-green and the size of a golf ball that wavered only slightly. That was when things went very wrong. Neville suddenly yelped as the sphere flashed brightly. The occupants in the room shielded their eyes from the bright light and the wooden block that had been holding the needle Neville was supposed to be focusing on toppled over with the needle's tip pointing directly at one of the Gryffindor Quidditch chasers, Alicia Spinnet.

Another flash of light and the sphere shot from the needle's tip and enveloped the girl in a globe of white and green. When the light cleared, the class stared in shock as they took in the vines, berries and flowers that had sprouted from Alicia's head and weaved through her hair, falling in waves down her back and ending in a pile on the floor around her feet. Smooth-edged leaves in a dark green sprouted from her body, poking out from her sleeves, the bottom of her robes and along her neckline, the surface of each leaf smooth and glossy. One could almost call it beautiful.

Neville and the rest of the class watched in horror as she began scratching franticly at her scalp and body, her skin slowly turning red and blotchy as she scratched furiously. The other students backed away from her as some of the red blotches of skin broke and a strangely thick clear liquid seeped out, darkening as it hit the air. Alicia began whimpering as her scratching became more and more frantic. She pulled at the leaves that sprouted from individual hairy vines on the back of her hands, only to cry out in pain and frustration as several more grew in their place.

Students began turning to glare angrily at Neville, several of them shouting at him about his clumsiness and idiocy, reminding him strongly of Professor Snape. Neville shrank away fearfully, muttering about not meaning to, as Urahara and the other transfers rushed to the distraught girl's side. "Uh oh." Urahara muttered, clicking his tongue, as he carefully lifted one of the leaves in her hair with his wooden fan and inspected it. "I believe this is poison ivy. Her skin is having a severe allergic reaction and it appears that sap is oozing from her skin. How peculiar. I'm surprised you aren't dead, to be honest." Several students shouted in affront. "Now, now, don't worry. I'm not one hundred percent sure what happened, though I have a theory, but it doesn't appear to be life threatening as far as I can tell."

"It was Longbottom's fault!" someone shouted.

"That's right; he's been having bad luck for the past week." Shouted a Slytherin boy further away from the unfortunate girl.

"Yeah, he shouldn't be allowed near us like this." Chimed in Pansy Parkinson. "He could seriously hurt one of us. I demand he be sent home immediately!"

There was a chorus of 'yeah' from around the room, even from his own house, and Neville bit his lip nervously, eyes cast to the ground and looking on the verge of tears. Toshiro glanced at the boy and knew Neville was feeling downright awful and about ready to run from the room. He knew this wasn't Neville's fault. He had had his suspicions before and after watching very closely during Neville's quiz, Toshiro was now one hundred percent certain that Neville was not to blame. During Neville's display of spiritual power, just before everything went chaotic, Toshiro had seen a second spark, much more unstable than the original, flare up beside Neville's, which Toshiro was sure was the reason for the accident that occurred. Someone had cast their own spark near the end, he was sure of it, and the contrast was what caused the sudden flash, as the two spiritual powers collided and fought for dominance of the needle point. Judging by the outcome, as Toshiro glanced back at Alicia as the girl continued to claw at her body, Toshiro couldn't help feeling pleased at seeing that Neville's power was strong enough to overpower the second spark of power. Unfortunately, the power struggle seemed to have caused the block to tip over and Neville, obviously unused to the sensation of instinctively fighting another spiritual power like that, accidently pushed too hard, causing the excess power to shoot from the point and hit the first thing in its path, which happened to be Alicia.

"Someone get Dumbledore!" shouted a Ravenclaw girl fearfully. "He's jinxed!"

"Wait a minute!" Hermione shouted as Neville's head shot up, eyes full of fear and unshed tears. "He didn't do this on purpose. It was an accident. You can't blame him for this."

"People with bad luck like his shouldn't be in a school with innocent children." Pansy shot back. "That's like letting a barbaric giant teach students."

"HAGRID IS NOT BARBARIC!" Harry roared angrily. The other Gryffindors shouted their agreement. "Just because you idiots couldn't listen to him when he said not to insult a Hippogriff doesn't make him a bad teacher! And Neville isn't a bad person either!" Harry turned to Toshiro. "Do something! He's your friend, isn't he? You just going to let him sink alone?"

Toshiro glared at him and then turned to face the rest of the students. "That's enough!" he shouted. The room fell silent. "Neville isn't to blame!"

"Of course you'd say that." another Slytherin sneered. "He's _your_ friend. You're just too self-righteous to admit you made a mistake by befriending someone like him."

"How dare you!" Rangiku shouted furiously. She opened her mouth to say more but stopped when Toshiro calmly held up a hand, clearly signaling for her to stand down. The air chilled considerably as the small ice captain glared ice-filled daggers across the room. The class shivered in the sudden cold.

"Tell me; do any of you know the first thing about spiritual powers like this?" he asked in a dangerously low voice that still carried across the room quite clearly. "Do any of you know the signs? What differentiates each power source? What distinguishes each one; makes them truly unique? No? Then how could you know this was Neville's fault? So he has been having some problems lately; but I can assure you that that has absolutely nothing to do with this. Each spiritual power has its own … signature, if you will. Each one represents you in some way." He held out his hand, palm up, and formed a small sphere, ice blue with a frosty white outer edge, in the center of his palm the size of a basketball. "For example, mine is like this. I can make it any size I want but I'm having it be big like this so you narrow-minded idiots can see." He let it melt back into the air and crossed his arms over his chest. "Neville's little sphere he had made was white and green, in case any of you were color blind during his demonstration. Yet near the end, I saw a spark of something else; a different colored spark flared up beside his. It was pathetically smaller and much more measly than his. But it was no doubt another spiritual pressure."

"You saying someone deliberately made Neville's sphere shoot out like that?" Hermione asked in shock. The other students looked just as perplexed, including Neville.

Toshiro nodded. "That is exactly what I'm saying. Someone else decided to create their own spark on the same point as Neville's, as stupid as that action sounds, at the same time and the two powers collided. Naturally the two powers fought, since powers aren't supposed to mix like that, especially powers that are irreconcilable." He glanced across the room at Neville. "What did you do just before the light flashed and the block toppled over? What feelings did you have?"

Neville looked thoughtful and he answered timidly. "I … I felt like there was something pushing down on me, like gravity or something. It didn't hurt and it wasn't actually physical. It was more like being squeezed from the inside. And I had a sudden urge to push back."

"And did you?" Toshiro asked.

Neville nodded. "I think so. It felt like I did but I'm not really sure. I've never felt like that before. I pushed as hard as I could and then the block fell over and …" Neville shrugged helplessly.

Toshiro nodded and turned back to the rest of the class. "What Neville has described is exactly what happened. It is instinctive to push back when an ill-compatible spiritual pressure tries to mingle with your own. It doesn't work. Mix negative energy with positive energy and no matter what you do, they will always butt heads. Neville's spiritual sphere didn't like the intrusion of the other spiritual spark and so fought back." Toshiro smirked. "And I'm pleased to say that Neville's power is much stronger than whoever's pathetic little spark that was. That's why it hit her." He said, pointing at a miserable Alicia, who was now sitting on the floor and scratching at her legs. "Neville's power fought back instinctively and out of inexperience, Neville pushed too hard. So not only did he knock away the intruding spark, but his energy knocked over the block holding his focused energy. The point acted as a conductor and once the needle pointed in a direction, the spiritual energy continued to travel from that point and hit the first thing in its path. Unfortunately, _**she**_ was the first thing in its path. Not by her fault, nor by Neville's; that was purely coincidental."

Toshiro's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the room, the temperature dropping a couple more degrees. "Now, I don't know who it was, and I don't know why, and frankly I don't care why. But let me just make myself very clear. Neville is part of _our_ group. And by _our_, I mean mine…"

"And mine." Rangiku said, stepping up beside Toshiro.

"And mine." Ichigo put in as well.

"And mine." Renji added as he too stepped up.

"And mine." Rukia said.

"And mine as well." Luna replied softly, looking for all the world as if she just tuned in to the current topic and hadn't a clue what was being discussed.

Toshiro nodded and turned back to the rest of the class. "Neville belongs to us. He's our friend, and friends, last I checked, back each other up, no matter what. They don't let each other 'sink alone'." He gave a meaningful look at Harry, who smiled sheepishly. "You mess with Neville, you mess with us. If he has a severe case of bad luck, fine. But I'll be watching all of you from now on. Each of your faces will be memorized and if I find out one of you is targeting him, you better believe I'll make your lives so miserable, you'll only _wish_ you were in hell." He turned to Urahara. "Have anything to add?"

Urahara smiled cheerily. "Nope, that about covers it." He turned to the rest of the class. "Class dismissed. I'm sure you're all quite ready for dinner, ne? Oh, and if any of you would like to accompany me as I take this young lady to the Infirmary, please do."

Students quickly left the room, wanting to put as much distance between themselves and the angry little transfer as possible. The other two Chasers, Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell, followed Urahara as he levitated a struggling Alicia and made his way out the door, both girls avoiding eye contact with Toshiro and Neville. Toshiro was pleased to see that they at least looked shamefaced when they passed Neville. Good. The last thing Toshiro wanted was for Neville to be treated like an outcast. Toshiro knew all too well how that felt.

"Nice little speech you gave there." Ichigo muttered teasingly when the door shut behind the last retreating students. "And here I thought we were trying _**not**_ to offend anybody. Well, if the rules of the game have changed…"

Toshiro scowled at him. "The rules remain the same. I've just added a few. And right now, I could care less about offending any of them. They deserve it after how easily they were willing to turn their backs on a fellow student just because of an accident. Especially the other Gryffindors. I was told they stuck together no matter what. Yet at the first sign of trouble, they run with their tails between their legs. Pathetic. Bunch of hypocrites."

"Yeah, well, they're human." Renji muttered with a shrug. "They can't help acting the way they do."

Toshiro rolled his eyes and approached Neville, who hadn't moved. "So, Mr. Poison Ivy; you just going to stand there like an idiot?"

Neville looked up from the ground, eyes shining. "Did you guys really mean that? Would you really go to such lengths for someone like me?"

"Not someone _like_ you, Neville." Toshiro muttered exasperatedly. "You. And yes, I was serious. I meant what I said. You're my friend and I never turn my back on a friend. Loyalty is something none of us take lightly. I'll protect you with my life, regardless of whether or not you'd do the same."

"I will!" Neville said immediately. "I definitely will. You've done so much for me already. If I ever have to sacrifice myself for any of you, I most definitely will; you have my word. Loyalty is definitely something I take to heart. I just can't believe you said those things out loud to the whole class." Neville flushed, eyes returning to the ground. He spoke softly. "You have no idea how much that meant to me. I've never had a friend like you. It's a whole new experience for me."

"Oh, Neville!" Neville's squeak of surprise was muffled as Rangiku wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him to her large bosom, lifting him off his feet and swinging him in circles. "You're so loved and have so many people who care about you. I bet you feel so special, don't you? Lucky." Rangiku laughed, squeezing him harder.

"Hey, let him go!" Ichigo shouted urgently. "You're going to kill him."

Rangiku stopped spinning and looked down at the little of Neville's face that was squished against her chest that she could see. He was turning blue. "Oops." She said as she released him. As soon as she did, Neville doubled over, gasping and wheezing and clutching his chest. After a few minutes, the color of his face turned back to normal, though he was quite flushed from lack of oxygen and embarrassment. Rangiku laughed. "Feel better?" Neville nodded mutely, red-faced.

"Geez, we just finished keeping his classmates from murdering him, and you go and nearly suffocate him." Ichigo muttered irritably.

Rangiku grinned cheekily. "Jealous? Do you want a hug too, Ichigo?"

Ichigo flushed and Renji and Rukia snickered. "No, I don't!" he snapped.

"Children!" Toshiro snapped. The others turned to him. He cast his eyes behind them. "We seem to be one extra."

The others turned to see Luna standing behind them, watching them with a dazed expression. "How long have you been standing there?" Rukia asked tentatively.

"Since class ended." Luna answered softly, honestly. "I wished to make sure Neville was alright." She glanced at him and nodded. "He seems to be in very good hands. I believe he is exceptionally safe with all of you. Especially you." She said to Toshiro. "Your warrior-like energy seems to suit you all quite nicely. It makes me wonder what you were in your past life. Perhaps you were soldiers from a devastating war and that is why you are so drawn to each other. Whatever you were, I'm sure you were as honorable as you are now. True warriors."

The shinigami and Neville blinked at her in surprise, not sure what to do or how to respond. Did she know? Luna nodded to herself, seeming to come to a conclusion in her head. "We should head down to dinner before the teachers come looking for us." And with that she turned on her heel and walked out of the room without a backward glance.

The others turned to Toshiro, who shrugged. "Let's go. I'll deal with it later. She seems to be of no harm for now."

Everyone nodded and began making their way out the door. "By the way," Neville started. "What did you mean, 'Neville belongs to us'? What's that supposed to mean?"

Toshiro merely smirked and continued walking, choosing not to answer.

* * *

Draco was furious. How dare that transfer brat call his spark pathetic! He was the only one in the class who could even create a spark, besides Potter, the Ravenclaw weirdo, and the Weasley girl. And stupid, sniveling Longbottom managed to make a near-perfect little orb. And then Hitsugaya's own large orb… that was some power! He didn't even seem to struggle creating it. He created it with such ease!

But now Draco had a major headache. Longbottom pushing at his own spark like that had caused Draco's temples to throb painfully. How dare Longbottom surpass Draco! No one out-shines Draco Malfoy, especially a pathetic little pansy like _him_! This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Longbottom was supposed to be at the bottom of the food-chain and not surpass someone of Draco's status. Longbottom was stupid, even Professor Snape thought so. He wasn't supposed to excel in anything except a wimpy subject like Herbology. And he definitely wasn't supposed to be better than anyone in a subject like Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everything was going wrong; nothing was how it was supposed to be. Whatever happened to the status quo? What was this world coming to? Oh, Longbottom was definitely going to pay. He and Hitsugaya both. This time Draco was going to pull out all the stops. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No mercy!

Draco rubbed at his temples and frowned. But wait, Draco couldn't let his anger get the best of him. He was a Slytherin, after all. Slytherin were cunning, not reckless like those suck-up Gryffindorks. He had to think before planning his next actions. Hitsugaya was on to them; he already said he'd be watching closely. Damn, that kid was annoyingly observant. And his power! Draco's eyes widened slightly at the thought of such power. If he could get his own power like that! The whole class was able to feel the icy coldness from that orb, almost as if it was … Draco blinked as a thought formed in his head. Almost as if the coldness was coming from Hitsugaya himself, not his power. Wait, wasn't his power a part of him anyway? But no, that's not what he meant. It was like the coldness itself was emanating from Hitsugaya's body. Could he possibly control the temperature? Could he control the weather?

The thought made Draco's eyes light up greedily, even as his head throbbed more painfully. What Draco could do with such power… He had to have it. But how could a midget like Hitsugaya manage to harness such power? And how could Draco get it? Could he? Maybe there was a way to steal it from Hitsugaya. There had to be; it couldn't be that hard if a shrimp like him and an idiot like Longbottom could pull it off. Draco gave himself a mental shake. He'd worry about that later. He'll investigate Hitsugaya later. And maybe the other transfers while he was at it. He wondered what each of their powers looked like, if any. But right now, he had other pressing matters to attend to. Like getting rid of Longbottom. He'd just have to be more cunning about it, so that Hitsugaya didn't notice or catch him. But for that to happen, he had to wait for the right moment. He needed to be patient. He could do that.

* * *

Neville's bad luck didn't improve during dinner, as he knocked over every goblet within reach while they both sat at the edge of the Gryffindor table as usual. The other Gryffindors, as well as the other houses, were still weary of him, avoiding sitting too closely to him and being in direct contact with him, but they were at least speaking civil with him. Several of them, in fact, actually approached Neville, albeit not too close to actually touch, and directly apologized for the way they treated him in class, especially the Gryffindors. They claimed that Toshiro was right and they were no better than the Slytherins, especially since it was a Slytherin who had started it. Then the Gryffindors closest to Neville began summarizing with him about who had caused the second spark.

Toshiro remained silent, listening to the different theories that floated up and down the table. He neither acknowledged nor dismissed each theory, even though he had a pretty good idea who was behind the second spark. The color of the spark had been tinted with gray, faint in color but just visible beneath Neville's green and white. So far, only Draco Malfoy, Luna, and Ginny Weasley had been able to produce a spark. It definitely wasn't Luna, since hers had been completely transparent, with a milky white outer edge being the only indication that there was even a spark at all; Ginny's spark had been a mixture of black and red, with tiny bright blue sparks flashing sporadically throughout; whereas Draco's had been a swirl of black, white and smoky grey. The same grey that Toshiro saw with Neville's little sphere just before disaster struck. However, Toshiro couldn't be one hundred percent sure it had been gray. Perhaps it had been the black of Ginny's spark. But he didn't see red or blue. He just had to wait a little longer, hoping that there will be more clues. Despite what he had said to the class, he was sure whoever had sabotaged Neville's demonstration had also been the one causing all of his accidents.

After dinner, Toshiro and Neville sat with Ron and Hermione in the usual corner of the common room, though Ron and Hermione's chairs were noticeably further from Neville's than usual. Neville tried not to notice as he made conversation with them while working on their homework. Toshiro glanced across the room to where Harry was conversing animatedly with the other members of the Quidditch team, minus Alicia. Toshiro wondered if the school's nurse had been able to reverse whatever Neville had done. He himself wasn't entirely sure what Neville had done and didn't think he would until Neville himself knew what he'd done. He had tried asking him during dinner, but Neville was unable to describe it clearly enough for Toshiro to understand. Perhaps with a bit of private outside training, Neville could progress enough to understand more what his powers could do and their limits.

"Attention, everyone!" Toshiro and the rest of the common room turned in silence towards the team, zeroing in on Oliver Wood, whom Harry had mentioned as the captain of the team. Oliver stood on a low table and glanced around the room, his face frowning with worry. "I know this is sudden and many of you aren't prepared. But the Quidditch team will be holding emergency try-outs tomorrow evening before dinner, between five o'clock and six, possibly later depending on how many show. Madam Pomfrey has been unable to reverse the …" he glanced briefly at Neville before swallowing thickly and looking back around the room. "Reverse the damage to our chaser, Alicia Spinnet. She has also decided that Alicia cannot play Quidditch, as she is having difficulties trying not to scratch herself and could end up falling off her broom in the process. So far, no potions that Professor Snape made for her have been able to stop the itching."

He cleared his throat and continued, clearly resisting the urge to glance in Neville's direction again, looking anywhere except. "Since Alicia is unable to play, we're one chaser short. We will be holding try-outs to find a substitute while they try to figure out how to help her. She's in a lot of pain right now. The new chaser will be announced after dinner here in the common room, once we've decided. Please, we really need a chaser. With one player short, we'll be at a major disadvantage. Anyone who can, please, we urge you to try-out. Thank you." Oliver glanced briefly again at Neville and his eyes hardened slightly. Then he stepped from the table and headed up the stairs to the seventh year boys' dormitories.

Neville turned back around and cast his eyes to the surface of the table as the rest of the Quidditch team separated and the girls went to bed. "I feel so bad." He muttered softly as Harry sat down in the empty chair between him and Ron, sitting closer than anyone else has so far besides Toshiro and the other transfers. "I know it wasn't my fault this time, but I can't help feeling like it is. Especially with everyone still mad at me."

"No one's mad at you anymore, Neville." Harry replied. "Everyone knows it wasn't your fault."

"I bet it was Malfoy." Ron said quickly. Hermione sighed but didn't comment. With Ron, when in doubt, blame Draco Malfoy. What he would do when he realized that his suspicions were actually right on the mark. "He would definitely do something like that. Especially since you did better than him in class today." He said to Neville. "He only made a spark; but you made an actual shape. It was a little wobbly and stuff, but it was a whole lot better than his. I bet he was jealous and tried to make you look bad."

"Didn't take much." Neville muttered dejectedly. "And people _are_ still mad at me. Like Oliver Wood; he kept trying not to look at me and when he did just before he got off the table, he looked almost like he hated me."

"He doesn't hate you." Said George, coming up to stand behind Neville. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, his twin standing beside him. "He's just really uptight because we've had such rotten luck so far when it comes to Quidditch."

"Yeah." Fred jumped in. "We have the best ruddy team in school but stuff keeps happening that ends up making us lose."

"Like getting sent to the Infirmary." George said.

"Or defending the school and nearly getting killed in the process." Fred added.

"And getting sent to the Infirmary." George said again. Both looked pointedly at Harry, who stuck his tongue at them.

"The point is," continued Fred. "We've come close to getting the cup so many times, only to have it snatched out from under us before we even lay a finger on it. He'll calm down a bit once we find another chaser, just you wait."

"I guess." Neville said, still looking depressed. "But you still need to find a chaser. If I was any good at Quidditch, I'd gladly offer. But I suck. Plus, I doubt anyone would want me anywhere near them right now. I'm jinxed. Maybe I _should_ go home. It's not safe having me here." Toshiro leaned down from his perch on the windowsill and punched Neville in the shoulder, hard.

"OW!" Neville cried, slapping his hand over the injured shoulder. He glanced up at the smaller boy. "That hurt!"

"Good." Toshiro snapped. He jumped down from the windowsill and placed his hands on the chair's arm rests, leaning in so close that his nose nearly brushed Neville's as he glared at his friend. Neville instinctively leaned away from him until the back of his head was pressed against the backrest of the chair. "What did I just finish telling you?" he ground out through clenched teeth. Neville could feel the cold air flowing from Toshiro's breathe as if he had just swallowed a bucket full of ice. He could almost see his breathe, like winter air.

"Did what we told you after class not sink in?" he continued. "Did you completely ignore us? Huh?"

"No." Neville said in a small voice, eyes downcast.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Toshiro snapped. Neville looked up nervously. "What the hell was the point in telling you all of those things if you're just going to ignore it? I told you I was going to back you up, didn't I? I told you I wouldn't leave you behind. I told you I'd back you up." He leaned in closer. "Didn't I say, quite clearly, that you belonged to us? I meant what I said. You're part of our group, Neville. And also like I said, if anyone wants to start stuff with you, they'll have to go through us first. I meant that. If anyone has a problem with you, we'll deal with it. Together. Am I clear?"

Neville blinked owlishly at Toshiro, his mouth moving but no sound coming out. Toshiro scowled. "Don't make me hit you again. Am. I. Clear?"

Neville swallowed thickly and nodded. "Clear." He whispered.

Toshiro nodded in approval and pulled away from him. "Good." Then he turned and jumped back onto the windowsill. "I don't want to hear another comment from you about going home because of your accidents. I told you I'd take care of it, and I will." He glanced back down at him. "Trust me."

Neville nodded earnestly. "I do trust you."

"Well, I'd hate to interrupt this little declaration of love you two have got going on," Fred said after clearing his throat. He grinned cheekily as they both turned to glare at him.

"But it's getting closer to curfew." George finished with a similar grin. "We should be heading up to bed now. Come, Gred, my brother."

"Of course, Forge, brother dear." Said Fred, and the two of them waved cheerily before heading up to their dormitory.

Hermione turned back to the others, shoving her books into her book bag at the same time. "They're right, though. It's about time for bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning, then." Then she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed up to the girls' dormitories. Harry, Ron, Neville and Toshiro stood as well and headed up to their own dormitory.

"Hey, Toshiro." Neville whispered as all the lights went out in the room and everyone settled down for the night.

"Yeah?" Toshiro asked softly.

"Thanks again." He said. "For putting up with me and stuff."

"No problem." Toshiro said. "Now go to sleep."

* * *

Toshiro opened his eyes and sat up several hours after falling asleep. Looking at his watch, he confirmed that it was one o'clock; he had originally planned on getting up at midnight but decided that one o'clock would work much better. He listened to the steady breathing from his other dorm mates, making sure everyone was still sleeping, before silently sliding out of bed and pulling on his sweater over his sleep shirt and sliding his feet into his shoes. He turned to give a slight nod as Ichigo and Renji silently followed suit, Ichigo having to slip on a pair of sweats over his boxer shorts. Then the three of them silently made their way out the door, down the stairs, and out the portrait hole, being extremely careful not to make any noise and wake up the other occupants of Gryffindor tower. The last thing they needed was any overly curious students following them.

* * *

Harry waited until he heard the door close before sitting up in his bed. He frowned. Why had Ichigo, Renji and Toshiro gone down to the common room so early? Or was it late? What was so important that it couldn't wait for a more civilized time to meet? What were they hiding? Harry silently slid out of bed and walked over to his trunk. After digging around, he pulled out his invisibility cloak and wrapped it around himself before quietly making his way to the door and silently slipped out. He inched himself to the top of the stairs and paused, confused. The common room was empty. Where had they all gone? They didn't leave, did they?

Frowning in disappointment and confusion, Harry slowly made his way back to the dormitory and slipped the cloak off. He dropped it back into his trunk and slipped back into bed. What were they up to? What could they possibly be doing out and about at such an hour? Were they pulling a prank? Harry would have thought so of Ichigo and Renji but Toshiro? He doubted it. But what were they doing? Perhaps he could bounce a few ideas off Ron and Hermione in the morning. For now, he'd just go back to sleep. Not much he could do for now.

* * *

The shinigami stood in the center of Urahara's classroom, the mirrors gone and the entire room empty and sound-proof. Each person stood a few feet from the other, their sword lying on the ground in front of them and their wand held steadily in their hand. Tonight was the night that they would finally perform the spell Head Captain Yamamoto and Captain Kurotsuchi learned that would merge their Zanpakuto with their wands. They had been practicing every night since Toshiro had received the letter from Ukitake containing the spell. Now, finally, they were ready to cast the spell on their swords. Hopefully things will go well.

"Everyone ready?" Toshiro asked at the end of the row. The others nodded, eyes full of confidence. Toshiro nodded back. "Alright, on the count of three, I want you to concentrate hard, focus your energy and magical properties. Don't let anything distract you and take your time; we will not be disturbed. One… two… three!"

There was a soft chorus of _arma__fusus__magica__!_ and a soft white gold glow emanated from each wand tip and engulfed the swords lying on the floor. The swords glowed brightly, nearly blinding the castors, as it appeared to suck the light and power of the spell into itself. Then the lights from the swords dimmed and when the shinigami took closer looks, their swords appeared completely transparent. Taking the next step, the Soul Reapers bent down and touched the tips of their wands to the tips of their swords.

The response was immediate: a smoky white-grey mist floated out of each blade, forming a gorilla with a snake for a tail, an outline of a cat's head, a dragon with a jagged body, a long white spiral, and the outline of a sword. Each shape floated above the sword blade it floated out of for several seconds before flowing into the wand tips as if being sucked in by a vacuum. As the smoky shapes faded, so did the Zanpakuto, until both vanished completely.

Once the room was empty once more, everyone sighed in relief and exhaustion, slowly sinking to the ground; they had been warned ahead of time that this spell would take a lot out of them but they hadn't realized just how much of their strength would be needed to perform this spell. They were exhausted both physically and spiritually and wanted nothing more than to go to bed and sleep for several long, undisturbed hours. Unfortunately, with classes later that morning, they would only be getting close to four more hours of sleep if they returned to their dormitories at that moment. However, another matter needed to be taken care of first.

"So, how do we know for sure that it worked?" Ichigo asked, his voice heavy with a sudden sleepiness. "That there weren't any problems or technical difficulties or anything?"

Toshiro sighed, feeling just as tired as his team looked as they sat leaning against the wall with exhausted expressions. "The only way to know for sure would be to cast a spell." He stuck his hand in the pocket of his sweater and pulled out a Knut. He gently tossed it onto the ground and shrugged. "I guess we can each cast a levitation spell on the Knut and see what happens. I'll go first." He quickly waved his wand and muttered the levitation spell. Immediately, the familiar sensation he got when using Hyorinmaru filled his body, filled his soul and made him feel so full of happiness that he couldn't help grinning broadly, his eyes widening and his whole being feeling full of the energy he usually shared with his Zanpakuto. He took a large gasping breathe, as if he had just plunged head first into a pool of power and energy. The coin floating successfully in front of him was just an added bonus.

Ichigo grinned. "I take it the spell worked?"

Toshiro released the spell, allowing the coin to drop gently back to the ground, and sighed, feeling oddly satisfied. He was immensely glad Hyorinmaru's power didn't vanish once the spell had been released. He glanced at the others and nodded mutely. Renji quickly sat up straight. "My turn. I want to feel the power I used to share with Zabimaru."

"Don't rush." Toshiro warned. "We don't know what will happen if we make a mistake with a spell."

Renji nodded and visibly calmed himself down before casting the levitating spell on the coin. After several long and silent moments, with Renji reacting the same way as Toshiro had, Renji let the coin fall back to the ground with a satisfied sigh. He grinned around the room, feeling happier than he'd ever felt in such a long time. "I feel him! I can feel Zabimaru's strength coursing through my veins! Ah, I hadn't realized how much I missed him! I feel as if I have my strength back and then some. And casting that spell was so much easier."

Yes, Toshiro had noticed that too. He turned to the rest of the room and watched as Rangiku, then Ichigo, and finally Rukia levitated the coin successfully, each of them reacting the same way he and Renji had before. The spell had been successful; he had to make sure to let Head Captain Yamamoto know about their success and thank them for giving them the part of themselves they had missed so dearly. Hopefully, having their Zanpakuto's spirit with them at all times will help give them strength throughout the rest of the mission.

"You know," started Rangiku thoughtfully. "I think I can do spells easier now. Taicho, have me cast a charm."

Toshiro thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, cast the unlocking spell on the door. Let's see what happens."

Rangiku nodded and headed to the door, a determined look on her face. The others gathered around, though keeping a safe distance just in case. She pointed her wand at the door, took a deep breath and muttered, "_Alohamora_." At first nothing happened but then they heard a soft click as the door unlocked. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Rangiku whirled around and pulled Toshiro into a huge hug. "I did it!" she squealed happily, jumping up and down with the little captain still in her grasp. "I actually did it with almost no problem! I can cast charms better! Ya-hoo!"

"Lieutenant!" Rukia cried in alarm.

Rangiku paused and let Toshiro go, grinning sheepishly. "Oops, sorry Taicho. I guess I got a little too excited."

Toshiro exhaled heavily and straightened his sweater. "It's alright; you have something to be happy for. You can finally cast a spell a bit more properly." He turned to the rest of the group, none of them with a single trace of the exhaustion they had felt just moments before. "Alright, we'd better head up to bed. I know none of you are tired now, but I have a feeling that if we don't, we might regret it later during the day. Let's go; off to bed. Try to get some sleep."

The others muttered to each other about it not being likely that they'll get to sleep for the rest of the night as they made their way out of the room and Toshiro had to admit, he didn't think he'd get much sleep either. The group split at the first staircase and everyone headed in the direction of their respective house until only Renji, Ichigo and Toshiro remained. The three of them headed up to Gryffindor Tower, Renji and Ichigo talking enthusiastically, though quietly so as not to wake anyone, comparing how they had felt when they cast the simple levitating spell and the sudden fill of energy that went through their bodies. Toshiro resisted the urge to contribute, instead feeling content just savoring the feelings of satisfaction and contentment Hyorinmaru had coursed through his body.

The trio slipped back into the common room and quieted down as they headed up the stairs to their dormitory. Toshiro slipped off his shoes as he shrugged out of his sweater and slid into bed, Ichigo and Renji doing the same, though Ichigo was so full of energy that he lost his balance as he tried to step out of his pants and shrug off his sweater at the same time and fell to the floor with a dull thud. Renji snickered after they made sure the noise hadn't woken any of their dorm mates. Toshiro rolled his eyes, full of such happiness and contentment that he didn't even have the heart to reprimand Ichigo for being noisy, and closed his curtains, shutting out the rest of the room. He didn't think he'd ever get to sleep, but after closing his eyes for only a few seconds, he was out. So much for not being tired.

* * *

**A/N: So, in case anyone wants to know, the harry potter lexicon didn't say what color Neville's eyes are, so I decided to make them hazel. Just thought I'd throw this out there. And you get two chapters! Lucky! And the next chapter is almost done. And I think after that, the monthly updates are going to cease a bit to about every other month or so, just because the chapters are starting to need much more details than before. I'm going to have to take some time from writing in order to think things through a bit for a few details. Nothing I can do about it. Hope you'll all continue to be patient. Once again, I'll post status updates on my profile every Monday, if I can. Thanks and don't forget to review!**

**LATIN WORDS:**

*****_Arma – weapons/arms_

*****_Fusus – fuse/melt together/become one_

*****_Magica – magic_

_(Basically, weapon fuse with magic; I just don't know the Latin word for 'with', if there even is one.)_


	22. Toshiro1, Draco0

**A/N: So here's the next chapter. The chapter after this will be up within the month, I hope. Sorry this couldn't be before Halloween but at least it's up. After that, I'm not sure. I'm still trying to get my mental status completely back on track. I feel so wiped out right now. I just can't work up the strength to feel anything at all. Just enjoy the double feature for now.**

**Disclaimers: I don't own Harry Potter, Bleach or anything else here that is obviously not owned by me.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Toshiro – 1, Draco - 0**

The next morning, Toshiro was pleasantly surprised to find that he felt completely refreshed, despite the lateness of which they went back to bed that night. He let a small smile float to the surface and began getting ready for the day with strong enthusiasm. Renji and Ichigo acted much the same, getting ready without a single grumble or complaint. Why, if someone didn't know better, they would have thought the three of them were excited and eager for the day to start. Toshiro could feel the curious eyes of Neville and the other boys on the three of them as they changed but he didn't care. Not even a Hollow suddenly showing up and attacking the school could dampen his spirits; in fact, he welcomed the attack. He was so restless that he was practically bursting at the invisible seams of his gigai. Wait… that wasn't good. Being restless and welcoming attacks? No, that couldn't be allowed to happen. Toshiro mentally shook himself and forced himself to calm down before he did anything reckless. Something that could endanger the students and blow their cover. Had to be more careful.

* * *

Ichigo grinned broadly, feeling so damn GOOD today! He never felt so alive! He had no idea he would miss Zangetsu so badly. After all, he had gone nearly fifteen years without even knowing him and now he couldn't even imagine being without him. It was strange but it felt great! He felt like he could take on the world single handed. In fact…

"Hey, Harry!" he called down the table to the glasses-wearing teen as said boy spoke to his two friends with a serious expression.

Harry looked up quickly. "What?" he asked.

Ichigo stood up and carried his food down the table to where Harry, Ron and Hermione sat. He glanced sideways at the person sitting beside Harry. "Mind scooting over?" he asked. The boy scooted down and Ichigo sat in his place and turned to Harry, who looked confused and curious. "So, mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Harry blinked curiously. "Um, sure."

Ichigo grinned. "Okay, so, what's Quidditch again? I think I remember hearing you guys talking about it on the train. What is it? How is it played? And how can I join?"

Harry's eyes widened. "You want to play?"

"Oh, you'll love it!" Ron said enthusiastically. He began explaining Quidditch throughout breakfast and all the way up to their first class of the day. "And that's how you play Quidditch. It's an amazing sport! If you can fly on a broom, then you can play. As for joining the house team, you'll need to be able to play the position you're trying out for."

Harry nodded as they stopped outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and waited for the doors to open. "For example, today the try-outs are for a Chaser, since we're down one. As Ron said, the Chasers fly around with the Quaffle and throw it back and forth to each other and try to get it through one of the opponent's goal hoops. So for anyone trying out for the Chaser position, they'll need to be able to fly well, be good with flying at a fast pace, be able to catch and throw the Quaffle, and have good aim. And they need to have good reflexes, since they'll be trying to do all this while avoiding colliding with other players and getting hit with the Bludgers." Harry paused for a moment, thinking, as the class entered the classroom and took their seats. "Actually, you might be pretty good at Quidditch. Have you ridden a broom before your flying lesson the other day?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No, that was a first for me."

Harry looked thoughtful as the class began taking down the notes Professor Lupin had written on the board. He glanced sideways at Ichigo and spoke softly. "From what I saw while I was staying with you guys over the summer, you have pretty good reflexes, and really good aim. You looked like a natural at flying. Not sure how you are at catching something the size of a basketball while flying in the air, but if you can do everything else, you might actually have a chance at making it on the team."

"What's a basket ball?" Ron asked curiously.

Harry shook his head. "Later." He turned back to Ichigo. "I'll talk to Oliver during lunch and let him know you're interested. If you do better than anyone else who tries out, you'll most likely make the team. To be honest, since this is your first time flying on a broom, I'd say you were a pretty quick learner and you should have no problem getting everything down."

"I should hope you three have no problems getting these notes down." Professor Lupin's voice floated over to them from his seat behind his desk. He smiled pleasantly. "Try to refrain from a lot of chit-chat until the end of class, please. Thank you."

Once class was over, Harry, Ron and Ichigo headed to their next class, continuing their conversation of Quidditch through note-passing during class until the bell signaling lunch. Hermione clicked her tongue in disapproval as she walked beside Ron. "You two are going to get in loads of trouble one of these days for not paying attention in class. Plus, you'll be sorry when you miss an important note in the lecture."

"We could always get the notes from you." Ron said. "You're the only one of us who can follow along in class without getting confused and have the ability to copy everything the professors say word for word, anyway."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but looked pleased with the comment. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to at least try to pay attention."

"If I had a pound for every time I paid attention in class, I'd be broke." Harry joked.

Ron blinked and Hermione smirked. "A pound?"

"You should have taken Muggle Studies with me." Hermione said.

Harry rolled his eyes and suddenly spotted Oliver Wood heading towards the Great Hall as they made their way down the last flight of stairs. "Hey, Oliver!" he called. "Oliver!"

Oliver turned around at his name and waved to Harry as he descended the last of the stairs. He stepped to the side of the doors to the Great Hall and waited. "Hello, Harry." He said when they approached. He nodded in turn to Ron, Hermione and Ichigo. "Hello, Ron. Hermione. And… it's Ichigo, right?" Ichigo nodded. Oliver nodded back and turned back to Harry. "What can I do for you?"

"Has anyone mentioned anything to you yet about trying out for Chaser?" Harry asked as they made their way into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table.

Oliver shook his head with a small frown. "No, they haven't. I'm worried no one will try. I'm not expecting miracles but I'm hoping at least one person will try out. We need a Chaser."

"Well, there's one person I know who wants to try." Harry said.

Oliver turned to him with an eager expression. "Who?" he asked urgently.

Harry tapped Ichigo's shoulder. "Ichigo's pretty good at flying, judging by what we could see of his flying lesson, even though he's never ridden a broom before. And I know for a fact that he has awesome reflexes. I'm not sure about catching or throwing a Quaffle, since he's never even heard of Quidditch, but he does have pretty good aim."

Oliver's eyes lit up at the brief description and he stood up. "Stand up. I want to see." He said to Ichigo. Ichigo stood up from the table and allowed Oliver to slowly walk around him, eyeing him up and down. "Well, you certainly have the build." He touched Ichigo's right bicep. "You're arms definitely seem to have power behind them. Well-toned." He stopped in front of Ichigo and crossed his arms over his chest. "You might actually make the team. We'll see how practice goes first, but I feel you might make it."

Ichigo nodded and the two of them sat back down and the group began talking about Quidditch, Oliver being more than willing to tell Ichigo everything there was to know about the sport. By the time lunch had ended and the group was headed to their next bout of classes, minus Oliver, Ichigo felt that he had learned more about one subject in a few hours than he had the entire time he'd been at Hogwarts. All of the explanations and descriptions of Quidditch had gotten Ichigo more and more interested in the sport and he was determined to try out and even if he didn't make the team, he was determined to try playing by himself, just for the fun of it. He never played much sports back home, mostly because he was too busy keeping the teachers off his back about his hair and school work. But since he really didn't have that problem here, trying for this exuberant sport might be fun.

Ichigo smirked to himself as he sat absently in class, not even paying attention enough to notice which class he was in at the moment. He tried to imagine how playing Quidditch would look and if he had the skills for it. He had been honest when he said he'd never ridden a broom before but that didn't mean he hadn't flown before. He had being a Soul Reaper to thank for that. And he was pretty good with catching objects in mid-air, though none of them the size of a basketball. Who knew? Maybe he would make a decent player after all.

Ichigo nodded to himself as class ended and he headed to the last one of the day, impatient for it to be over already so he could finally get to the try-outs. He wondered briefly how many others were going to try out for the spot of Chaser and wondered if he had a chance after all. All of these other students already had some sort of knowledge and or experience with playing Quidditch and any of them could be much better suited for the position than he. Right, well, he'd just have to wait for the try-outs to start and see where it took him. That's all he can do right now. Now, if only this darn class would hurry up and be over, already!

Finally, several minutes later, the bell signaling the end of class rang throughout the school and Ichigo quickly made his way out of the classroom, beating everyone else even though he was in the back of the class with Renji, and quickly made his way down the stairs to the Great Hall and outside to the darkening grounds. He stopped after descending the few steps from the entrance and suddenly realized that he hadn't a clue where the try-outs were being held other than outside. He turned around when a voice spoke behind him.

"Eager, aren't you?" Oliver descended the steps with a broad grin on his face. "That's great. Strong determination and an eagerness to prove your worth are excellent to have, no matter what you do. Being eager to try for the team is just what I want to see. Come on, we're going to the Quidditch Pitch, where we usually have the try-outs." Ichigo followed Oliver as he made his way towards the pitch. "I've already gotten the okay from Madam Hooch; the pitch will be ours until dinner, in order to find us a new Chaser. We'll wait for the rest of the team and any others who want to try out and then we'll start. Alright?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Sure. But remember, I've never even heard of Quidditch before, so…"

Oliver waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. Once you start playing, it's pretty easy to catch on to the rules and rhythm. Just go with the flow. We'll have you go after one or two other people, so that you can see how it's supposed to go. That sound fair?"

Ichigo nodded and waited while Oliver left to a storage shed a little ways away from the pitch. When he finally returned, the rest of the team had arrived and so had three other Gryffindors. Two of them were first year boys, neither of them seeming that eager to make the team and the other a fourth year girl who seemed to spend more time with her fingers weaved in her hair than anywhere else. _I might actually have a chance._ Ichigo thought as he surveyed his competition. He turned back to Oliver as the team captain placed the single broom he had brought back with him from the shed on the ground and gave six fancier looking brooms to his teammates, keeping one for himself. Then he placed the average-sized, slightly quivering box he had been hovering with his wand on the ground in front of him. Then he looked up at the four try-out members, the rest of the team flanking around him.

"Thank you all for coming." He started. "I hate having to do this, but it looks like I have no other choice." He cleared his throat. "Anyways, let's see what we've got. First, the instructions: I am going to let out one Bludger and the Quaffle. The team will fly around throwing the Quaffle between them. You will each take a turn playing with the team, passing the Quaffle back and forth while avoiding the Bludger, which will be controlled by our Beaters, Fred and George Weasley. This is to test your ability to catch while flying, as well as your ability to play with a team, your endurance and your reflexes. I will be playing as my position, Keeper, and we will see how many times you can score, if any. Even if you don't score, it doesn't immediately disqualify you. We're just trying to see how well you can do with throwing, aiming, and playing under pressure." He pointed to one of the first year boys. "Why don't you go first?"

The boy stepped forward and the try-outs began. The boy did horribly, and half the time he seemed to not care whether or not he made a goal or caught the Quaffle at all. Ichigo rolled his eyes for the third time as the boy made a very slow lunge for the Quaffle when it went just passed his position. This kid was definitely out. The second boy was only slightly better. He made more of an effort to score but he was horrible with speed. When the team made to land at the end of his trial run, he was the last to land by a full minute at least. Definitely not good. The girl was by far the worst, in Ichigo's opinion and he honestly wondered why she bothered to try out at all. She didn't like flying too fast for fear of the wind messing up her hair and she made very odd attempts to catch the Quaffle without using her fingers. The worst part was that at one point, she dropped the Quaffle in order to focus all her attention on flying away from the Bludger.

Finally, it was Ichigo's turn. He grinned in anticipation as he mounted the broom and waited for Oliver to give the okay before he took flight. He was eager to start, not really so he could try for the team, but because he was eager to try out this sport that was supposed take a lot of effort and take a lot out of you. His body felt as if it was full of energy, too much energy maybe, and he needed a good way to expel the extras. It was making him almost jittery. Was that normal? Did he always feel like this? He didn't think so. Either way, he was ready.

"Ready, Ichigo?" Oliver called from his position near the foot of one of the goal posts.

Ichigo nodded and Oliver once again brought his right arm up into the air, the signal that everyone should take flight. Ichigo immediately soared into the sky, enjoying the wind whipping at his face and making the adrenaline rush through his veins at an incredible speed. The team started him out in the center of the field like they had the others who had tried out. Then he followed as Harry, Angelina and Katie soared towards the goals Oliver was guarding, each of them passing the Quaffle back and forth all the while, and spontaneously throwing it at him without warning. Ichigo caught the ball each time it was thrown his way, while avoiding Fred, George, and their Bludger as all three continued to pelt towards him in an attempt to knock him off his broom or drop the Quaffle. He managed to score once but missed every other time. That was okay; just the feel of flying around without a care in the world was enough to keep him going.

At the end of try-outs, Oliver called it quits, a broad grin on his face. "That was great!" he cried happily as everyone crowded around him before going into the castle for dinner. "Well done, everyone! That's all for now. Tomorrow evening, we will announce the new Chaser in the Gryffindor Common room. Good luck to each of you."

"I don't want to try out anymore." Said the boy who had played so lazily. He looked annoyed. "This is too hard. It takes too much work."

"Well, duh!" snapped Fred in annoyance. "You can't play a competitive sport of any kind without putting _some _kind of effort."

"Well, I don't want to play anymore." The boy replied with a shrug. "I'll go join a club instead." And with that, the boy walked off.

Oliver blinked. "Um, alright. Well, that just makes it all the more easy for us to pick someone." He turned back to the remaining three. "Well, it's all down to you three now. We'll see what the team decides and that will be it. Dismissed."

Harry and the team lingered behind as Ichigo and the other two headed back to the school, Ichigo lagging slightly behind. As they watched, he brought his arm up and mimicked throwing a ball as hard as he could. He repeated this action all the way back to the school's entrance. Then Harry turned to the rest of his team. "What did you guys think?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I vote Ichigo." Said Fred and George simultaneously, raising their right hands in the air.

"He _was_ better than the fourth year girl." Angelina said thoughtfully. "I don't know what she was thinking in trying out. She definitely didn't look like the sporty type."

"She flew away from the Bludger!" Katie exclaimed incredulously. "I don't like getting hit with them either but I wouldn't drop the ball and fly away with my arms over my head. That was a seriously stupid move; what if she had slipped off her broom? She wouldn't have been able to grab the handle before falling."

"That other boy didn't do so bad but he was very slow." Oliver said. "He scored three times, where Ichigo only scored once. But Ichigo was great at catching, speed, and dodging the Bludger. Although, twice he looked like he was going to hit it with his own hand."

"Well, he is pretty strong, physically." Harry said defensively. "I stayed with him and the others during half of my summer and I sparred with them a little bit. Ichigo managed to break the dining room table with his bare fist. Actually, they all did, including Toshiro and Rukia. They're pretty strong; maybe he thought he could hit it without hurting himself."

"Well, he should leave that to us." George said, pointing to himself and Fred. "There might be a rule against someone other than a Beater being allowed to hit a Bludger. The Chasers deal with the Quaffle, we deal with the Bludgers."

"Other than that, he did really well." Oliver said.

"Considering he's never even heard of Quidditch until Hogwarts." Harry added.

"You're kidding!" the Weasley twins said incredulously.

"So, have we come to an agreement then?" Oliver asked. The others nodded. "All in favor of Ichigo?"

"Aye!" said Fred, George and Harry.

"Yes!" said Katie and Angelina.

"Ichigo it is." Oliver said with a nod. "I'll announce it tomorrow. And Harry, you seem closer to him than anyone else on the team; would you mind helping train him with extra practices from now until our first Quidditch game? With a bit of training, I feel he'll be an excellent player. It's too bad he isn't staying next year; he'd be a great addition to the team after I graduate."

The others nodded and the team headed towards the broom shed, where they replaced the brooms and Quidditch balls. Then they locked the shed and headed back to the school and dinner. Harry was glad Ichigo made the team and couldn't wait to tell him. He wondered how Ichigo would take the news of being on the team. He seemed to so eager to play and looked so excited about flying around. Harry could understand the feeling. He loved flying on his broom, feeling so free and so invincible. Anyone could get lost in the feeling, easy.

Harry followed his teammates through the Entrance Hall, but just as he was approaching the door to the Great Hall, he spotted something small and red dart out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see the red blur head down to the dungeons and caught sight of Crookshanks, Hermione's ginger cat, as it darted after. Having a feeling that the small red blur was Toshiro's kitten, Harry quickly headed after them. Crookshanks hadn't left Suna alone the entire time they were at the school. Why, just yesterday Harry had entered the boys' dormitory by himself in order to find the extra parchment he had left in his trunk and had found Crookshanks trying to jump onto Toshiro's bed, where the kitten had been sleeping. Harry had been impressed to see that Suna would have none of it, scratching and hissing at Crookshanks and preventing him from getting onto the bed and anywhere near her. Harry had grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and lifted him away from a spitting Suna and was surprised to see Crookshanks' face covered in scratches. Hermione had been quite upset when Harry brought him back down and told the others what had happened. All Toshiro had said was that he had warned her to keep her cat away from his.

Harry quickly headed down to the dungeon corridors and began searching for the cats. He could hear hissing and knew Suna was getting tired of being chased. Eventually, she'd turn and start scratching the hell out of Crookshanks again. Harry quickly slipped down another hall and followed until he found Suna in a corner, hissing, growling and spitting as Crookshanks sauntered towards her, swishing his bottle-brush tail from side to side. He took another step towards her and Suna's growls grew louder, her blood-red fur standing on end and her back arched, preparing to pounce. Harry quickly rushed towards them just as Crookshanks took another step. Suna yowled and lunged, clawing at Crookshanks' squashed face. Harry quickly swooped down and picked up Suna before she killed Hermione's cat, his hands getting scratched up badly for his trouble.

"Sshh, you're alright." He whispered to her, holding her close to his chest with one bleeding hand and gently petting her head with the other. He turned to Crookshanks, who was now growling at the interference and whished is paw at him. "Get." He hissed. "Leave her alone; she's going to scratch you to death and Toshiro will help her if you don't stop chasing her. Go on, go back to the dorms or something!" He took a threatening step towards the larger cat and it quickly turned and headed down the hall and out of sight.

Harry sighed and looked down at a now calming Suna, her soft fluffy fur turning the pale blue she usually turned when she was calm. "Try not to kill him; the last thing we need is for Toshiro and Hermione to get into an argument over her cat when you claw him to death." Suna merely purred contently in his injured hands. Harry winced as his own sticky blood began to dry on his hands. "Thanks a lot, by the way."

Harry sighed again and began heading back the way he had come, heading towards the Entrance Hall, intent on giving Suna to Toshiro and demanding gratitude for saving his kitten at the cost of his poor hands. As Harry headed down the hall, he suddenly heard whispering from an adjacent hall. Quickly, Harry slipped into a small nook in the wall and waited as the voices grew louder. He recognized Blaise Zabini as the boy responded to another boy.

"I still say we be careful." He was saying. "Malfoy might not care what happens to us, but I'm not getting expelled for him. If he starts making us do really dangerous pranks to Longbottom, I'm out. I'm not getting expelled for seriously injuring one of Malfoy's targets."

"Yeah, definitely." Said another boy as they passed Harry's hallway. "But I like how things are going so far. Have you seen pathetic Longbottom apologize over and over to Hitsugaya every time he has an 'accident'? How pathetic. I wonder how many more pranks we'll have to pull before either Longbottom decides to go home or Hitsugaya decides to stop hanging around him?"

Blaise and the others laughed. "Soon, hopefully." Blaise said, his voice fading as they moved further away from Harry. "We're running out of good pranks."

Harry's heart pounded in his ears as he slipped out of his hiding place, his blood boiling. So, it _was_ Malfoy after all. Ron was right; Malfoy was having his lackeys pull pranks on Neville in order to either get Neville to go home out of fear of hurting someone or in order to get Toshiro to stop hanging out with Neville. But why? Harry could understand targeting Toshiro, since Toshiro seemed to be getting more fans than Malfoy or even Harry, but why Neville? He hadn't done anything wrong, other than be friends with Toshiro and do better than everyone else in that Japanese teacher's class. Could that be it? Could Ron be right and Malfoy was jealous of Neville? Well, either way, Harry had to stop them; he had to put a stop to it somehow. He had to tell Toshiro.

Harry quickly snuck back up to the Entrance Hall without being detected and slipped into the Great Hall, heading straight for Toshiro and Neville at the end of the table. He quickly pressed a still purring Suna into a puzzled Toshiro's hands and sat down beside him. "I know who's doing it." He whispered without preamble.

Toshiro and Neville blinked at him in confusion. "Who's doing what?" Toshiro asked curiously.

"Who's making Neville have bad luck." Harry explained.

Neville's eyes widened. "You do? Who? Why?"

"I already know." Toshiro replied and set Suna on the table beside his plate before continuing his dinner.

Neville turned to his friend. "You know?" he demanded incredulously. "You know who's doing it? Why didn't you say so?"

"I told you I would take care of it." Toshiro replied.

"I didn't think that meant you knew." Neville said.

"Regardless, I'm taking care of it." He said.

"But who's doing it?" Neville asked earnestly. "And why? What did I do to deserve this?"

"That, I don't know yet." Toshiro admitted. "But I do know who's doing it. They think they're slick. But I'm on to them now. I've just got to wait for the right moment."

"Huh?" Neville asked in confusion.

Toshiro didn't seem to have heard him as he muttered into his tea. "They think they can fool me? Well, they're sadly mistaken. I'll get them, just wait."

"Um, Toshiro?" Neville asked nervously. "You still there?"

"I'll get them." Toshiro continued to mutter darkly. "I warned them. Well, we'll see how they fair against me. No mercy."

"What are you talking about?" Neville asked in exasperation.

"How do you know who it is?" Harry cut in curiously. "How'd you figure it out?"

"I told everyone I'd be watching them." Toshiro answered with a shrug, snapping out of his sudden dark thoughts. "At the end of Urahara's class, remember? I said that I'd remember everyone's face and keep an eye on each of them. I did. And I figured out just who was doing it."

"Wow, you're perceptive." Harry muttered in awe.

Toshiro shrugged. "Now, back to more important matters, what happened to your hands?"

Harry and Neville looked down at Harry's scratched and bloodied hands and Harry chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I saved your cat. She was being chased by Crookshanks down in the dungeons and when Crookshanks tried to get too close, Suna started scratching at his face. I grabbed her away from him and she scratched up my hands in the process."

"You should probably go see Madam Promfry." Neville suggested with a wince. "Those look painful."

Harry shrugged. "They sting a bit. It looks worse than it is because of the blood."

Toshiro turned towards Rangiku and made eye contact with her before pointing down the row to Ichigo's friend, Orihime. Rangiku glanced at Harry's hands, nodded and stood from her seat and walked to where the other girl sat. She bent down and spoke to her for a few seconds and then the two of them made their way to Toshiro, Neville and Harry. Toshiro nodded to Orihime and pointed to Harry. "Can you fix this?" he asked her.

Orihime glanced at Harry's hands and her eyes widened. "Oh, my gosh! What happened? Are you alright?"

Harry flushed as the girl started flustering over him. "I-I'm fine." He stuttered as she gently lifted his hands and turned them this way and that. "They're just scratches."

Orihime didn't answer, instead studying his hands. Finally, she looked up and turned to Toshiro. "I can heal them." She turned back to Harry. "May I?" Harry nodded mutely and felt several pairs of eyes on him as the girl placed her hands to hover a few inches over his. Suddenly the air around his hands glowed, as did the little floral pins in her hair and then she muttered, "I reject." A large orb of light glowed around his hands and when it finally faded, Harry's hands were clear of both blood and cuts.

He blinked and looked up at her. "How did you do that?" he asked in amazement.

"I believe we've already established that she'll be practicing healing in the Hospital Wing while she's here." Toshiro replied. "Why study healing if she didn't have _some_ kind of affinity for it? She has a few spells of her own but she wants to learn more."

Orihime nodded. "Mmhmm. The more healing spells I learn, the more I'll be able to help people."

"Oh. Well, thanks." Harry said.

Orihime smiled kindly and headed back to her seat at the Hufflepuff table. Rangiku leaned down and whispered into Toshiro's ear. The smaller boy nodded and whispered something back before Rangiku smirked and headed back to her seat. Neville turned to Toshiro. "What was that about?"

Toshiro smirked. "None of your business."

Neville rolled his eyes and Harry got up from the table and headed to where his two friends waited for him. As soon as he was seated, they immediately began questioning him. "What was that about?" Ron asked first.

"What happened to your hands?" Hermione asked right after. "How did you hurt them like that?"

Harry quickly explained what had transpired down in the dungeons, from the time he followed Suna and Crookshanks, to hearing the Slytherins, to Orihime healing his hands. After he was finished, both of them looked shocked. Then Ron broke into a grin. "I knew it!" he exclaimed. Hermione shushed him and he lowered his voice. "I knew it was Malfoy. He's jealous of Toshiro being more popular and of Neville doing better than him. That's just the kind of person he is."

"But I don't understand." Hermione said softly. "Why is he targeting them? I mean, why try to send Neville home or make Toshiro stop being friends with him? What will either of those prove?"

"Who cares?" Ron muttered exasperatedly. "Just accept that it's Malfoy. He doesn't need a reason to be nasty."

Harry nodded, though Hermione still didn't look convinced. The subject dropped and Hermione instead brought up Suna and Crookshanks, Ron laughing uproariously when Harry explained again how Suna tried to tear up Crookshanks' face. "That's what the stupid cat gets for being a pain."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed angrily.

Harry sighed and tuned them out for the rest of dinner, instead going over in his head what he had heard from the Slytherins and wondering what they were planning on doing next to poor Neville. He was always targeted by bullies, especially the Slytherins, and Harry felt bad that no one ever stopped to help him. Maybe that was it. Maybe they didn't like Neville suddenly growing a backbone. Maybe they didn't like that their punching bag was suddenly starting to fight back, thanks to a bit of confidence boosting and coaching from Toshiro. Could that be it? Harry didn't know; but despite what Toshiro had said about taking care of it, Harry was going to do what he could to make sure they stopped. Neville wasn't a bad person any more than Hagrid was a bad teacher and he certainly didn't deserve to be treated the way he was. Harry would make sure they stopped, if for no other reason than because Neville was a fellow Gryffindor.

* * *

The next morning, the Gryffindor third year boys entered the common room to find a small huddle of students near the notice board. "What's this about?" Renji asked as he peered over several first years to read the newest notice. Then his eyes widened and he glanced behind him to where Ichigo stood with a grin. "You tried out for that Quidditch sport? And you got in? When did you decide to try out?"

"Yesterday." Ichigo said with a shrug, though he was still grinning. "I made the team; that's awesome!"

"Why did you even decide to try out?" Renji asked as they descended down to breakfast.

Ichigo shrugged again. "I guess it's mostly because of that spell we used the other night." Ichigo lowered his voice as he spoke. "You know that huge adrenaline rush we got when we finally got our Zanpakuto? I felt so alive and full of energy, I decided to try out. I don't really have any other reason than that." He finished honestly.

"Perhaps we could use this to our advantage." Said a voice behind them. Both turned to see Toshiro and Neville walking behind them. Toshiro glanced at Ichigo and continued in the same low voice. "You can use this opportunity to both keep an eye on Harry and the rest of the team, and at the same time, learn as much as possible about this wizarding world's famous sport."

Ichigo nodded. "I can do that. I was starting to get bored sitting around doing nothing. Maybe a bit of protection detail would be good for me. And playing hard on the field and competing with the other teams might help relieve stress."

"Just don't overdo it." Toshiro warned. "And don't forget what you're main objective is."

"'Course not." Ichigo said with a shrug.

"Ichigo, wait up!" a voice called from down the hall. The four of them turned to see Harry running towards them with a grin on his face. Once he caught up, he stopped to catch his breath. "So," he gasped. "So, you made it. I knew you would. But Oliver wants me to train with you from now until our first game, in order to work on a few things, like scoring. And resisting the urge to hit the bludgers with your own hand." Harry added as an afterthought.

Ichigo smirked. "Oh, yeah. Well, I didn't know there was a rule against it."

Harry shrugged. "I don't really know if there is or not but we don't need to give the Slytherins an excuse to claim we're cheating. Better safe than sorry. Just leave the Bludgers to Fred and George. Beaters are there for a reason, you know."

"Yeah, yeah." Ichigo muttered.

"So, when's our first practice?" Ichigo asked as they entered the Great Hall and headed to the Gryffindor table. "I want to get started as soon as possible. The sooner I get really good at Quidditch, the better chance we'll have of winning the upcoming match. It's soon, isn't it?"

"That it is." Said a voice behind them as they sat down to breakfast. Ichigo turned in his seat to see Oliver come to sit right beside him. "I'm glad to hear that you're so enthusiastic about getting practices underway. Congratulations on making the team, by the way. Can't wait to see what you've got after a good amount of practicing."

Ichigo nodded in agreement and the topic changed to upcoming classes after Oliver stood from the table and headed to where Angelina and Katie were sitting, wanting to get an information update on Alicia's predicament. Ichigo turned to Toshiro and Neville. "Did you guys ever figure out a way for Neville's power-backfiring curse-thing to be reversed? I hear that girl hasn't been fixed yet."

At his words, Neville deflated slightly. Toshiro rolled his eyes before facing Ichigo. "No, we haven't. But we haven't really been working on it. Been busy with a few other things."

Neville nodded. "Like my lessons."

Toshiro turned to Neville. "Introduction: Salutations. Name. Origin. Ending."

Neville groaned and stood from the table, facing Toshiro. The nearest students looked up, interested in what Neville had learned this time. His tests were becoming almost routine and people were interested in the lessons. Several had gone up to Toshiro and the other transfers and asked to be tutored as well but Toshiro had said n, claiming that Neville had asked first. The other transfers had claimed that they had neither the patience nor skills to teach someone else. Grumbling, the students had resorted to watching Neville being tested and learning from him.

Neville took a deep breath and let it out slowly before beginning. "_Hajime mashite. Watashi wa _Longbottom, Neville _desu_. _Watashi wa __**Iigirisu**__jin desu._" Here Neville paused, trying to remember the last part. He always forgot it, since it needed to be pronounced correctly."_Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu?_" he said in the form of a question. Toshiro nodded and Neville nodded and repeated it more confidently. "_Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu._" Then he performed the correct formal bow before retaking his seat.

Toshiro nodded in approval. "That was very good. Now tell me what each means. You don't have to stand." He added as Neville made to get up.

Neville smiled gratefully and recited. "_Hajime mashite_ means **pleased to meet you**. _Watashi _means **I **or **the subject** and _wa_ is like saying **the sentence it about the subject**. When stating your name in an introduction, you announce your surname first, followed by your given name. Your last name states the family you belong to and your first name is what identifies you as you; so for me it would be Longbottom, Neville. And _desu_ at the end is a marker that means **am** or personalizing the subject. I think it basically says 'Neville Longbottom is me.' Right?" Toshiro nodded and Neville continued. "_**Iigirisu**_ is the Japanese word for **England** and _jin_ basically saying **this is what I am**; so it's saying **English is what I am**. And _Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu_ roughly means **please be kind to me **or **please treat me kindly**. And for a more polite effect, you can add _douzo _which means **please**, before _Yoroshiku_."

Toshiro nodded again and sipped his tea. "Very good. You're learning at a good pace. Keep this up and you'll be speaking full Japanese in no time."

"You're getting the accent down pretty well." Renji added. "Try to ease up a bit on putting so much emphasis on each letter and syllable."

"Have you started _Kanji_ yet?" Ichigo asked as the owls took that moment to deliver the mail.

"_Kanji_?" Neville asked.

Toshiro shook his head. "Not yet. I want him to be able to say it first. That way, when he sees how it's written in _Kanji_, _Hiragana_, and anything else, he won't be confused and it won't affect his pronunciation. We'll start that eventually."

"Wait, is _Kanji_ like writing?" Neville asked curiously. "Like the weird symbols you draw? And the symbols on your trunks?" Toshiro, Renji and Ichigo nodded. Neville's eyes widened. "I don't think I can do that. I wouldn't have even known that those were words if Harry hadn't told me so in our dorm when I asked him what was on the lid of your trunks."

"When you were little, did you know that lines, squiggles and circles organized in such a way were words at all?" Toshiro asked. He pulled a quill and ink bottle from his school bag and pulled a napkin close. Then he wrote the English word for 'word' in a corner. "What does this say?"

Neville looked at it curiously and then back up to Toshiro. "'Word'." He answered.

"How do you know that?" Toshiro asked. "How do you know it doesn't say 'dog'?"

Neville blinked in confusion. "Because there's no 'g' and… I don't know, it just doesn't spell 'dog'."

"But how do you know that?" Toshiro continued to press. "How do you know the 'd' is supposed to make the sound it does? Or the 'o'? Or the 'g'? How do you know that if you put the 'd', the 'o' and the 'g' in that particular order, it would spell 'dog'?"

Neville frowned, looking thoroughly confused. "I – I don't know. That's how I was taught."

"Exactly." Toshiro said with a nod.

"Huh?" Poor Neville was now completely lost. Ichigo and Renji, however, were shaking with silent laughter, both of them understanding what Toshiro was getting at, and amused that Neville wasn't getting it.

"You were taught at a very young age what each letter is called, what sound each letter makes, what sound it makes when it's combined with other letters, that combining letters in a particular order forms a 'word' and how to pronounce each word. Correct?" Toshiro asked. Neville nodded. "It's been implanted into your head that 'd', 'o' and 'g' in that particular order spell 'dog' and now if anyone suggests that there is a 'q' or a 'z' in there somewhere, the first thing you would say is 'no there isn't', right? That's the same for us. We learned at a young age that when we put the lines in a particular order, they form a word or even a whole sentence. My point is, with time, other languages **can** be taught. It just takes time, dedication and a metaphoric drill that can get through even the thickest skulls. No implications."

"Oh." Said Neville. "Right."

Toshiro shrugged. "You'll understand better once the time comes."

Neville sighed and continued with his breakfast. "If you say so."

* * *

The next few days passed quite peacefully, for the most part. Ichigo began his private Quidditch training with Harry that Monday and had just finished yet another grueling workout, this time with the whole team, before Oliver finally called it quits. Ichigo landed on the ground beside Harry and wiped the layer of sweat from his glistening brow, welcoming the cool breeze that swept over them. "Man." He panted. He turned to Oliver with a grin as the group made their way to the school's broom shed. "You're a slave driver, you know that?"

"That's what we've been saying for years." George said, he and his brother coming to walk on either side of him.

"But you know what they say." Fred said.

"You can't teach an old hippogriff new tricks." The twins said in unison.

Ichigo smirked. "And here I thought the term was 'cat'."

Oliver rolled his eyes as he unlocked the shed. "I just want to be prepared. We need to win this year; we just have to. This is our year, I know it. Several months from now and that trophy will be ours. I just know it."

George waved a hand in front of Oliver's face as his eyes glazed over. Then he turned to the rest of the team. "We've lost him."

Katie snuck up behind Oliver and tweaked his sides, causing the Gryffindor captain to jump nearly a foot in the air before turning to glare at her. She laughed. "Welcome back to Earth."

The others laughed as they put everything away and Ichigo replaced the school broom he had been using. Harry and the others had suggested mail-ordering a broom of his own and Fred and George suggested waiting until Halloween, when the first Hogsmeade trip usually took place, and buy a broom from one of the shops. For now, though, he was stuck using a school broom for practices, which weren't all that great.

The group headed up to the school and climbed up to Gryffindor Tower. "Well, I'm ready for a shower and bed." Ichigo said with a yawn as the approached the portrait hole. "I'm exhausted."

"And this was just the first day of practice with Oliver." Harry said with a chuckle. "It gets worse as Quidditch matches get closer."

Ichigo stuck his tongue out with a grimace as they climbed into the common room. The team separated as they took in the excited whispering floating around them. Ichigo headed to where Toshiro and Neville sat in their usual corner by the window, while Harry went to sit by Ron and Hermione by the fire. "So, what's the buzz?" Ichigo asked the small captain perched on the windowsill and reading the History of Magic textbook.

Toshiro didn't respond, didn't even look up from his book, so Neville answered. "The first Hogsmeade trip of the year." He said excitedly. "I can't wait; I was told it was awesome."

"Oh, yeah." Ichigo said thoughtfully as he perched on the edge of the nearest seat. "Fred and George were just talking to me about that. I'm assuming the date is set for Halloween?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Neville asked curiously.

Ichigo shrugged. "Fred and George said that there's usually a trip scheduled for Halloween. They want me to go with them to buy a broom." This last bit he directed to Toshiro.

The young captain looked up. After a few moments of thinking, he nodded. "Someone could probably cover your shift until you get back. You do need a decent broom if you wish to stay on the team, I suppose. I guess I'll stay until you return."

"Aw, but I thought you were going with me to see everything." Neville pouted. "If you go late, there won't be much time for anything."

"I've been to several different wizard dwellings before, so skipping one won't make much of a difference." _Liar._ Said a voice in Toshiro's head. He ignored it. "Besides, there will be plenty of other trips, I'm sure."

"But if you guys are taking shifts," Neville said in a whisper. "Then there will be one trip you won't go to."

"What does it matter?" Ichigo asked with a yawn. "It's not like you two are planning on using this trip as a date or anything."

Neville turned pink. "I know that." He snapped. "That wasn't what I meant. Whenever something good happens, I never have anyone to share it with. This time something cool is happening and I do have a friend to share it with. Our friendship will only last a year, so excuse me for wanting to cherish it while it lasts."

Ichigo blinked and then grinned sheepishly. "Oh, sorry. I guess I didn't really think about that. Well, maybe I can ask Renji or something. Maybe Rukia wouldn't mind staying behind for a while. Rangiku is definitely a no; she's already made plans based on what some of the older students have told her about the village. I'll just ask Rukia tomorrow or something." Ichigo stood up and stretched with another yawn before heading to the boys' dormitory. "I'm gonna go shower and head in early."

Before Ichigo could reach the staircase, there was a shout from the fireplace. Every student in the common room turned to see Ron shouting at Crookshanks, who was hanging from his school bag by its claws. "YOU STUPID CAT!" he roared as he swung the bag. The front of the bag tore and out flew a small furry rat, which immediately darted around the room, Crookshanks hot on its tail.

Ron shouted to catch Crookshanks and several people made leaps for both rat and cat before Toshiro sighed with a roll of his eyes and got up from the windowsill. Then he rushed forward and grabbed Crookshanks by the scruff of his neck in one hand and Scabbers in the other. Crookshanks made a swipe at Scabbers in Toshiro's other hand, while said rat tried desperately to free itself. Toshiro roughly shook both. "Enough!" he snapped. Scabbers froze, trembling, while Crookshanks growled low in his throat, narrowing its eyes up at the ice captain through its squashed face.

Toshiro handed the trembling rat to Ron and shoved Crookshanks to Hermione, who looked scared but cross. "You didn't have to grab him like that."

Toshiro glared at her. "Would you rather I grabbed him by his tail then? **You **obviously weren't going to do anything about it."

"He's right!" Ron snapped at her from behind Toshiro. "You keep that stupid cat away from him!"

"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong." Hermione defended her cat. "All cats chase rats, Ron."

"That's not true." Toshiro argued. "I've met several cats who've learned to get along with rats and mice and birds and anything else they've habitually chased. Same with dogs to cats and so forth. They learn. You obviously haven't bothered to train him, otherwise you would have done something when he gave chase. First he keeps bothering my cat, and now he's bothering other people's pets. Keep him on a tighter leash, or I will."

"You can't hurt him!" Hermione snapped angrily. "You have no right!"

"I have every right when he's trying to impregnate my freaking kitten!" Toshiro shouted furiously. "Let's get something straight, Granger. Your cat is constantly going after Suna and then you get mad whenever she scratches the hell out of his face. I told you when we first met that if he impregnates her, I'll disembowel him. I wasn't kidding then, and I'm not kidding now. The last thing we need is to be traveling around the world with a freaking litter of damn kittens. Especially when she's still a baby herself. And now you're angry that Ron is angry at him for attacking his rat. He has every right to be angry. Get that cat neutered and properly trained, or I'm tossing him into the damn lake for the squid! You understand me?"

Hermione glared at him, and opened her mouth to argue. Toshiro glowered at her and the temperature dropped considerably. Frost formed around the little captain's feet, causing Ron and Hermione, who were closer, to back away from him. Cold air filled the room, causing several people to shiver and the flames in the fireplace to go out. Despite his size, at that moment, Toshiro appeared extremely terrifying, as wisps of frosty air puffed from his nose and mouth as he breathed heavily, his eyes shining like ice. "I said Do. You. Understand. Me?" he repeated in a low voice.

Hermione nodded her head silently, too frightened to speak. Toshiro gave a swift nod and reigned in his power, allowing the temperature to warm up considerably and the frost to recede. Then he turned on his heel and headed back to the window. Quickly, he gathered up his things and headed swiftly up the stairs and out of sight. Neville gathered up his things and turned to Hermione with a sad shake of his head. "You shouldn't have argued with him. He's really protective of Suna and he's already annoyed with Crookshanks for constantly chasing her and not leaving her alone. Just keep him away from her. Is that really so hard?" Then he turned and headed up after Toshiro.

After several moments of silence, Ichigo cleared his throat. "I believe I was going to go have a shower. Yeah, that's right." His comment seemed to be a trigger, for the rest of the room began whispering excitedly amongst themselves, this time about Toshiro and his sudden outburst. And most of all, his power. Ichigo winced and headed up to the dorm for his much needed shower.

"Wait up." Renji said from behind him. Once he caught up with him, the two continued up to the dorm. "That was nuts. I wonder what happened. I've never heard of him blowing up like that."

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know. But he was fine a few minutes ago, when we were talking about Hogsmeade. I don't know what happened."

The two entered the room to see the curtains on Toshiro's four-poster drawn and Neville sitting in the middle of his own bed, staring at his hands in his lap. He looked up when they entered. "He said he doesn't want to talk. He just wants to go to sleep and be left alone."

Renji approached the bed. "Captain?" he asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Abarai." Came Toshiro's voice from behind the curtains. He voice sounded calm but they could tell he was tense. "I just need to rest."

"Well, if you're sure." He said before heading to his trunk for his toiletries.

"I am." Toshiro said.

Renji glanced at Ichigo and Neville, who both shrugged helplessly. Then he and Ichigo headed to the bathroom. Neville looked sorrowfully at Toshiro's bed, feeling bad for his friend being so unhappy. Yet at the same time, he had to wonder what had caused it. Why had Toshiro suddenly blown up like that? He was fine a few minutes before that happened. Why did he suddenly become so angry? It couldn't just be because of Crookshanks, could it? There had to be more to it than that. A lot more. With a small shake of his head, Neville went to his trunk and began getting ready for bed. Once he was finished, he grabbed his bag of toiletries and headed to the bathroom, shutting the door softly behind him.

Toshiro sighed once Neville had left and flopped back on his pillow. He shouldn't have lost it like that. But damn it, he was tired of that dang cat pestering his kitten! He constantly approached her, no matter how many times she attacked and injured him, and it annoyed both of them. Why couldn't he just leave his kitten alone? She was too young anyways. But still, he shouldn't have shouted so badly to Hermione. After all, she couldn't get pregnant yet, could she? When did cats become fertile? He wasn't sure.

Toshiro sighed again and turned on his side to see his kitten sleeping peacefully on the pillow beside his head. He reached over and gently ran his fingers through her fur. It was so soft, like fluffy blue cotton and it flowed through his fingers like air. Suna lifted her head and blinked her large purple eyes at him curiously. He knew the real reason for his blow up and it had nothing to do with the cats, really. As much as he wanted to deny it, what bothered him the most was what Neville had said to Ichigo about Hogsmeade. Neville was still bothered about the thought of Toshiro and the others leaving at the end of the year, more than likely never to see any of them ever again. He couldn't guarantee that he would be the one to pick up Neville's soul when the time came. The thought that his soul would have to be picked up at all didn't sit too well with Toshiro. The thought of Neville dying bothered him more than it should. He was used to death. People died all the time; it was part of life. You live, you die. It was natural. So why should it matter that Neville would die eventually? What did it matter if he never saw him again? It's not like it really made much of a difference.

But it did. It bothered him to think about. A lot. No matter how much he tried not to get attached, Neville had become his friend. That boggart was proof. His fear had been about being unable to protect those he cared about, and Neville was one of them. He brought out a side to Toshiro that had long since become dormant, even he could see that. He cared about Neville and didn't wish any harm to him. But damn it! He didn't want to get close to anyone for that very reason. He knew he wasn't going to stay, he knew he wouldn't be here longer than the mission required. He knew that! He shouldn't have allowed himself to get too close to any of these…these…_humans_. They were human, he was not. Not anymore. Even if, for some odd reason, he stayed for another year, that wouldn't stop him from leaving eventually. He didn't belong **here** anymore than Neville belonged in Soul Society. Even if he was allowed to take Neville with him, and he already knew Neville was more than willing, he couldn't do that to him or those who cared about him. He knew Neville would miss the human world; he himself had missed it at some point, he was sure. And taking Neville while there was a war going on back home was definitely out of the question. Although, technically he was already in a war here. Toshiro didn't care what the stupid Ministry fools said; Voldemort was alive. He never showed up at Soul Society and none of the Soul Reapers he had spoken to ever remembered picking up someone like him. No, he was definitely still alive, of that Toshiro was almost sure.

That thought didn't make him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel much worse. Neville wasn't ready for a war, and no doubt he would be thrust into one whether he was ready or not. Voldemort was sure to attack them soon. Would Neville survive? Would Toshiro have to see him in Soul Society sooner than he expected? No, he couldn't allow that. Perhaps he could sneak Neville somewhere safe until their war was over?

Toshiro scoffed to himself. Like that could happen. Besides, Neville was a lot stronger than he gave himself credit for. Taking him away from a fight while everyone else was fighting would definitely not help boost his already fragile confidence. No, Neville had to be ready; he had to be ready for when that cowardly bastard attacked. Neville had to be able to hold his own. Toshiro couldn't protect him when that time came. But he could help get him prepared. Yes, prepare him for a fight. That was about the most he could do for his friend. "I have to do something." He whispered to Suna. His kitten mewed softly and licked his hand before placing her head back down for sleep. Toshiro scratched behind her ears and ran his thumb over the teal crescent moon that jutted out of her forehead between her eyes. "Neville's my friend. I have to make sure he's safe. I have to."

On the other side of the curtain, Neville froze when he heard Toshiro say his name. He had just gotten back from the bathroom and was just putting his bag of toiletries back into his trunk when Toshiro had spoken softly. "I have to do something. Neville's my friend. I have to make sure he's safe. I have to." Neville blinked in confusion. Safe? Safe from what? Or who? Neville wanted to ask what he was talking about, but he had a feeling he wasn't supposed to have heard that at all. But what was he talking about? Why would Neville need to be safe from something? Was something supposed to happen?

Neville shook his head in confusion and proceeded to his bed, making enough noise to let Toshiro know that he was in the room. As he was climbing into bed, the rest of the boys entered the room and began getting ready for bed themselves. Neville shut his curtains and settled down beneath the blankets, listening to the others talk and change and go to and from the bathroom. As silence slowly settled across the room and the lights went out, Neville began falling asleep, while his mind whirred with thoughts of evil magical creatures attacking him and Toshiro jumping out of the sky with a sword in his hands and attacking the monsters with ice that shot out of the blade, as an icy wind wound its way around the monsters' heads and suffocated them.

* * *

The next day, Ron and Hermione were still angry with each other and Hermione was both furious and terrified of Toshiro. Toshiro, however, looked like he hadn't had much sleep that night and when he rubbed his eyes sleepily that morning on their way down to Herbology, he looked so child-like that Hermione found it hard to stay mad at him for too long. She listened in as Neville spoke to him when they reached the Greenhouse and waited for Professor Sprout to let them in. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather skip class and go back to bed? You look tired."

"I'm fine." Toshiro muttered before yawning. "I just slept less than what is required for my body and it's not happy about it. I'll snap out of it as the day moves forward."

Neville looked at him doubtfully. "If you say so. But maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey and ask for a Pepper-Up potion or something."

Toshiro shook his head. "I don't need it. And even if I did, why would I ask someone for something that I could easily make myself?"

"Maybe because it's already made and available?" Neville asked innocently.

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Smart ass."

The class entered the greenhouse and gathered around three to a table. On each table was a plant that Neville automatically identified as a Puffapod. Toshiro became very amused when a Hufflepuff girl joined their table and Neville suddenly went quiet, with his eyes kept down on the table and a pink tint crossing his cheeks. He barely said a word, other than the shy 'hi' when she said hello to each of them. Despite his sudden shyness, when Professor Sprout instructed them to remove the bean-filled pods from the Puffapods and place the beans in a wooden bucket, Neville was quite diligent and by the end of class, their bucket was completely full of the little shiny beans. Toshiro could tell he was in his element, as he seemed to come out of his shyness and inform the both of them of different features and uses for the plant and the beans as they worked. Toshiro hid a smirk at the end of class when the Hufflepuff girl, whom he learned was named Hannah, complimented Neville on his knowledge and he went as pink as the pods they had been de-beaning.

"Something wrong?" Toshiro asked casually as they made their way back to the school. "You're awfully quiet. Not to mention pink."

Neville blinked. "Pink?" Toshiro quirked an eyebrow and Neville blushed even harder. "Oh. It's nothing."

"Really." Toshiro said dubiously. "Somehow I find that hard to believe. You didn't start acting like a shy little schoolgirl until _that_ little schoolgirl joined our group."

Neville smiled. "Shut up."

Toshiro shook his head with a smirk. "Children."

Neville smacked his arm. "Well, you're feeling better." He huffed.

* * *

After lunch, the third year Gryffindors headed up to their next class, Transfiguration. As Toshiro and Neville approached the classroom, there seemed to be a crowd gathered around a crying girl and Hermione seemed to be speaking to her. Toshiro approached Ichigo and Renji. "What happened?" he asked.

Ichigo shrugged and Renji answered. "Apparently, the girl, Lavender, they called her, got news from home about her dog –"

"Bunny." Ichigo jumped in. "She said bunny."

"Right. Well she got news that it died. Killed by a fox." Renji continued. "She kept saying that the psycho lady was right about her prediction. Something about her dreading something on the sixteenth of October and it coming true and all. And then Hermione started questioning her and stuff, trying to reason with her with facts and what not."

"Don't listen to her, Lavender." Ron suddenly said loudly. "Like Toshiro said, she doesn't care about other peoples' pets."

Toshiro frowned. "Don't drag me into this. I've got nothing to do with it."

"Don't get him mad, Ron." Said George as he and Fred rounded the corner and headed passed their group.

"Yeah, or else he'll freeze you into an icicle." Fred finished. "You wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life in mum's garden, now would you?"

Toshiro glared at them and they winked. "Hey, Toshiro." Fred whispered. "If we asked you to, would you freeze Mrs. Norris for us? We want to hang her on a tree for Christmas."

"Filch will love it." George snickered.

"No." Toshiro said coldly.

"No, I guess not." George said thoughtfully. "Then everyone'll know it was you. Oh well."

"Don't you two have somewhere to be?" Toshiro snapped.

"Right you are." Fred said and the two of them headed down the hall and out of sight as the class began filing into the classroom.

After class, McGonagall called out to them as they made to leave. "Since you are in my House, you will turn your Hogsmeade permission forms to me. Do this before Halloween. No forms, no going to the village. That's my final word."

"Uh, oh." Neville mumbled. He raised his hand. "Um, Professor. I can't find my form."

"Your grandmother sent the form directly to me, Longbottom." McGonagall answered. "She seemed to think it was safer." Toshiro scoffed. "If that is all, you may go."

"Phew, I thought I had lost my form." Neville muttered as they made their way out to their next class. "That would have been awful, especially after the fuss I made yesterday about wanting you to go."

"The only reason you thought you had lost your form is because your grandmother didn't even give it to you and therefore, you forgot about it until now and since you didn't even remember getting it, you thought you had misplaced it." Toshiro said. "You're never going to learn if you're not given a chance."

"Yeah I guess." Neville amended.

* * *

The next two weeks were filled with nothing but talks of Hogsmeade and what lies within. "I can't wait to see what's there." Neville said multiple times. "I wonder where we should go first."

The only one who didn't seem too happy was Harry and after listening in on a few conversations, Toshiro learned why. Harry had been unable to get his permission slip signed by his uncle before he had idiotically stormed out of the house in a rage. According to what he was saying to his fellow dorm-mates, he had tried asking McGonagall if she would allow him to go, regardless of whether or not his relatives had signed the form. And to no one's surprise, she had said no. Dean Thomas, who was supposedly good with a quill, suggested forging the uncle's signature but Toshiro stomped on that idea.

"She already knows you didn't get it signed." He told Harry. "Suddenly returning to her with it signed, at least before a decent amount of time could pass between you asking her and getting a response from your uncle had you sent it to him by owl, wouldn't be a very wise idea. Remember, over the summer, I told you to think before acting."

"No you didn't." Harry said stubbornly. "You said not to let my pride make my decisions."

"Same thing." Toshiro snapped. "Think before you act, or don't act at all. Is that really so hard?"

Harry huffed but didn't reply.

The next morning, students talked excitedly with each other about the trip that would take place after breakfast. Toshiro wasn't really feeling in the mood to go, mostly because all of the excited shouting and whispering up and down the halls like a hoard of angry bees had started giving him a steady headache. But he had promised Neville he would go, and the boy looked so excited about the trip that Toshiro hadn't the heart to dampen it. So instead, the young captain squared his shoulders and braced himself for what was to come, determined to keep Neville happy tonight, if for no other reason than because it was Halloween.

"You know." Toshiro said as Neville continued to get ready before breakfast. Toshiro had long since finished dressing, wearing black jeans with a black belt and a silver buckle, and a navy blue polo shirt with his division's insignia over the left breast pocket. He also wore his black leather jacket with his division's number on the back. "The sooner we get down to breakfast, the sooner we can go to the village."

"I know, I know." Neville said absently as he pulled on his shirt. "But some of my clothes aren't meant for this kind of cold. I couldn't find my winter clothes. And I still can't find my jacket."

Toshiro pointed at a piece of cloth sticking out from under Neville's bed. "You mean that?"

Neville turned and grinned sheepishly. "Oh, there it is."

Toshiro rolled his eyes and the two finally headed out the door and down to breakfast. Students yammered throughout the Great Hall, each one talking and shouting across the room to each other, asking if everyone in their party was finished eating or where they wanted to go first. Toshiro noticed that the upper classmen weren't as crazy, merely talking amongst each other about whether or not a specific shop had anything new this year.

"You know, at times like this, the age difference amongst you guys is very pronounced." Toshiro commented as he drank his tea. "The upper classmen are acting like it's a normal event, whereas all the third years, and some of the fourth years, are acting like it's a once in a lifetime thing."

"But it is." Said a boy to Neville's other side. "This is the first year that us third years get to go to the village. Aren't you excited?"

Toshiro shook his head. "Not really, but like I said, we've been to similar magical dwellings before." _Though those places happened to be different parts of Soul Society._ "After a while, the excitement wears off. Besides, this may be the first time you get to go, but as far as I can tell, it won't be the last, if the upper classmen are anything to go by. By next year, or the year after, this trip will seem pretty mundane."

The boy, Seamus, blinked. "Are you sure you're thirteen? You talk like me mum."

Neville snorted into his toast. Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Yes. It's just that where we're from, acting like a child is a bit frowned upon. Especially for my rank. I'm stronger than those of my group, so therefore, I'm ranked higher than they are, even though we started within the same year."

"Wow." Said Seamus.

Toshiro turned to Neville. "You ready to go yet?"

Neville shoved the rest of his toast into his mouth and turned to Toshiro. The other boy stopped him before he could open his mouth. "Don't you dare speak with that crap in your mouth. I don't want to see half chewed food soaked in saliva. Chew and swallow."

Neville rolled his eyes and made an effort to chew his food and swallowed largely before reaching out and taking his goblet and drinking a large gulp. Once his mouth was empty, he turned back to his friend. "There, happy?"

"Euphoric." Toshiro said sarcastically.

"Yew-what?" Neville blinked.

Toshiro shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go before everyone leaves without us."

The two of them followed the herd of students as everyone filed, ungracefully in Toshiro's opinion, out into the Entrance Hall, where Mr. Filch checked off names from a clipboard. Near the front of the horde, Draco Malfoy's voice floated up to the staircase, where Harry was standing, watching Ron and Hermione. "Not coming, Potter? Afraid of the Dementors?"

"Can it, Drip-o!" Ichigo called from the other side of the throng. "You weren't exactly brave yourself, from what I heard. Keep your comments to yourself, twerp!"

Draco glared daggers at Ichigo and then turned and glared at Toshiro. Neville glanced at him. "Why is he suddenly glaring at you? You didn't even say anything."

Toshiro shrugged indifferently. "Who cares. He's an idiot. And I'm not the only one he's glaring at."

Neville turned back to Draco and his eyes widened. "He's glaring at me, too?" Neville, Toshiro was pleased to see, looked not afraid but annoyed. "What did **I** do?" he huffed. Neville stuck his tongue at Draco, who, if possible, looked even more furious.

Toshiro chuckled. "Glad to see you're coming out of your shell."

"Huh?"

The two of them headed out the door and down the path leading to the wizard village Hogsmeade. Neville jumped up and down the whole way, looking like an excited child. "I can't wait to see what's there." Then he smirked and glanced sideways at Toshiro. "I heard there was a really popular sweet shop there. They sell crap loads of sugary candy." Toshiro wrinkled his nose in distaste and Neville laughed. "That'll never get old."

They entered the village and Neville's eyes widened. "Wow, it's even more amazing than I imagined."

The streets were lined with buildings, each one holding a sign above the door, baring its name, while windows, lit brightly, displayed some of its contents. There were pubs, broom shops, stationary shops, pet shops, a large sweet shop that was already flooded with students, a joke shop, and much, much more. Behind the shops on the main street, regular houses lined the area, some with lights on in the windows, and some completely dark. It reminded Toshiro of Diagan Alley, except with the appearance of a village instead of a crowded alley. The only thing missing was the large white marble building, Gringotts.

Neville turned to Toshiro. "Where do you want to go first?"

Toshiro shrugged. "You're call."

Let's go to the Three Broomsticks." He said, pointing to a pub down the street with the sign displaying The Three Broomsticks. "I heard there was a drink there called butterbeer, and it was supposed to really warm you up."

"I'm already warm." Toshiro said.

Neville looked at him incredulously. "You're nuts! It's freezing!"

"Fine, fine." Toshiro amended. "Let's go."

The two of them headed for the Three Broomsticks and sat down at a booth near the back of the room. "Want me to get them?" Neville asked.

Toshiro shrugged and fished out his money bag. "Sure. How much do they cost?"

Neville blinked. "Um, I don't know. Let me go check." Neville scrambled up to the bar and spoke to a woman in a somewhat fancy robe. Then he came back with a grin. "They're two Sickles each." Toshiro handed him two Sickles and Neville scampered off again. Several moments later, Neville returned with two tankards full of a foaming amber liquid.

Toshiro took his and drank. It didn't taste too bad. A bit sweet but with a sort of tanginess as well. He could feel whatever was in the drink as it seemed to warm his body from the inside. It almost made him want to take his jacket off, as he was starting to feel a bit too hot. He and Neville drank out of their tankards in silence, occasionally breaking it with a comment here and there about the other customers. Suddenly the room was penetrated by a loud shout.

"THIS IS TOTALLY UNFAIR!" Toshiro winced, knowing exactly who's voice that was. He glanced in the direction of the bar and groaned when he saw his subordinate standing with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. He sighed and stood from the table, Neville following with his tankard. "THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I AM NOT A CHILD! HOW DARE YOU TREAT ME THIS WAY!"

"Matsumoto!" Toshiro shouted from behind her.

Rangiku whirled around and frowned at Toshiro, pointing behind the bar to the woman he had seen Neville talking to. "Taicho, she won't let me drink anything! I wanted to try one of those firewhiskey things but she said I was too young! I am not!"

"Miss." The woman said. Rangiku turned a furious glare at her and the woman flinched slightly. "The drinking age is seventeen. You said you were sixteen."

"So?" Rangiku snapped. "I'm able to drink in Japan. What does it matter? This isn't fair! I'm not from here; I'm only staying for the year. Once I leave, I'll probably go drink somewhere else. What's it matter if I drink here or not? It doesn't make any sense."

"Matsumoto, I told you not to offend anyone." Toshiro grumbled as he wiped a hand over his face. "If their laws say the age limit is seventeen, then there's nothing we can do about it."

"But that's not fair!" Rangiku cried. "Why should I have to change the way I do things just because I'm in a different country? That makes no sense." Rangiku frowned and then suddenly brightened. "I know. I'll go back to the school and get my sake." She turned back to the woman behind the bar. "That'll show you. I'll drink my own drinks. I have Japanese alcohol in my dorm; keep me from drinking that!" Then she whirled around, her long strawberry blond hair fanning out behind her, and stomped out of the pub without a backwards glance, though with plenty of mumbling and grumbling.

Toshiro sighed and glanced at the woman. "My apologies for my classmate. She usually only snaps like this when people deny her alcohol. When it comes to Rangiku and alcohol, you don't say no. Or at least that's what we've learned."

"Does she really drink back in Japan?" the woman asked incredulously.

"Yes. In Japan, she's allowed to drink. Or at least, a Japanese wizard is allowed to drink at her age." Toshiro said.

Toshiro and Neville finished their drinks, thanked the woman, and left the pub. They wandered through the streets, occasionally entering a shop and looking around, greeting fellow classmates as they passed, and enjoying themselves as well as they could, occasionally talking about Rangiku and her demand for alcohol. "That was actually kind of funny." Neville commented. "I've never seen her act like that. Like a child who was denied candy."

"Pretty much." Toshiro grumbled. "Speaking of candy, we might as well get it over with." He indicated the only shop they had been putting off for as long as possible.

Neville chuckled. "Are you sure you can stand it? Maybe you should wait outside."

Toshiro glared at him and headed into the shop ahead of him. Neville smirked and followed. It was worse than Toshiro could have imagined. There were mountains of shelves and each one was filled to bursting with sweets and children. The smell alone was enough to give Toshiro a toothache. The sugary monstrosities lining the walls were crowded with students, all of them grabbing and looking, their eyes as wide as Neville's.

By the time the two of them left, Neville held a large bag of nearly a hundred different sweets. He had been unable to resist anything. He had purchased several chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans, Licorice Wands, sugar quills, and after trying one, bought thirty-eight chocoballs, which were round chocolate shells filled with strawberry mousse and clotted crème, each one individually wrapped in a gold foil wrapper, designed like a Snitch.

"These are probably my favorite so far." Neville said as he took a bite out of his third chocoball.

"If you keep eating them now, you won't have any left by the time we get back to the school." Toshiro mumbled, resisting the urge to gag. The sugary scent from the shop seemed to have absorbed into his clothes. "And we're _not_ going back in there."

"But they're so good." Neville replied, stuffing the rest of it into his mouth. He pulled another out of his bag and held it out to Toshiro. "Try one."

Toshiro wrinkled his nose at the innocent looking ball. "I'll pass."

Neville shrugged and the two of them continued looking around a bit longer before finally heading back up to the school. Neville was shivering again but the candy seemed to be helping distract him from his discomfort. "I wish I had another butterbeer. I'm cold."

"Well, we're almost to the school." Toshiro replied. His eyes swept up and down the trees they passed as they headed up the path. The castle loomed in front of them and Toshiro turned his gaze towards the gates, his eyes narrowing at the thought of the dementors. Then he turned his gaze towards the lake. Something didn't feel right. Something told him they weren't alone out there. Someone was lurking where they shouldn't be. He was sure of it. But who? And where were they? Was it Black? Or Voldemort? It definitely wasn't a Dementor. He couldn't place his finger on it. Something felt out of place. He didn't feel threatened, per say. More like he was being watched. Like there was another presence lurking about.

"We should move quicker." He muttered to Neville.

Neville, who had been reaching into his bag for another chocoball, snapped his head up at the tone in Toshiro's voice. It was low and tense. He looked and noticed his friend's narrow eyes and the way he kept looking around them, his body obviously on alert. Neville dropped the chocoball his hand had wrapped around back into the bag and instead stuck his hand into his pocket, where his wand rested. "Why? What is it?" he asked in an equally low voice.

Toshiro was pleased to hear the alarmed, yet alert, tone in Neville's voice, instead of the outright fear and panic he normally would have adopted. "Something doesn't feel right. It feels like there's someone else out here; someone who shouldn't be."

"That's awfully vague." Neville whispered, looking around them as they picked up their pace. "Any idea which direction?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No. But I definitely feel that it's within the grounds."

"How? The Dementors wouldn't let anyone in or out through the gate." Neville replied.

"Unless whoever is here didn't use a gate." The thought made Neville shiver and this time the cold had nothing to do with it.

"What are you going to do if something attacks?" Neville asked nervously. He didn't want his friend's secret exposed if he had to fight something. Who knows how much trouble that would cause? Not to mention the rumors.

"I'll have to do my best to keep you and the others safe." He replied. "Ichigo is at the school keeping an eye on Harry and everyone who didn't go to the village. They're as safe as they can be right now. We, however, are out and in the open; a perfect invitation for an attack. I saw Renji and Rukia further back; they'll be able to protect the lagging students. Rangiku knows better than to drink enough to get drunk while on duty. If there is an attack, she'll be ready as well. And you're doing very well. You've managed to keep your spiritual orb as a perfect sphere. You just need to learn to keep it going for longer than five minutes without getting exhausted."

"I'm working on it." Neville assured.

"I know. But don't worry." Toshiro said as they headed towards the double doors. He grabbed Neville's wrist and pulled him to the side, allowing the rest of the students to enter in front of them. "I don't think we'll be attacked. I don't really know how to explain it, but I don't feel threatened. But just to be safe, I want to let the other students in ahead of me. You should probably head in as well."

Neville shook his head before Toshiro even finished his sentence. "No way. I'm not leaving you out here by yourself."

"I won't be by myself. Renji, Rukia and Rangiku are out here as well." Toshiro replied. "And I can take care of myself. I'm captain ranked, remember?"

"Doesn't matter." Neville said stubbornly. "Just because you're a captain doesn't mean you can't accept help. I may not be as skilled as you in a fight, but I _can_ be a pretty good diversion or something."

Toshiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "True Gryffindor to the core."

"You better believe it." Neville shot back.

"Taicho?" Renji asked as he and Rukia approached. They were coming up from the very back of the group of students, behind the stragglers. They came to stand beside him and Neville, both of them with serious expressions. A few seconds later, Rangiku appeared, holding over a dozen bags of goods from several different shops.

"Do you both feel it as well?" Toshiro asked as he glanced around them, scrutinizing the shadows the castle cast along the grounds. The moon wasn't completely full yet, but there was enough light to see most of the grounds near the school.

The other three nodded. "There's someone out there." Renji muttered. "Or some_thing_."

"But it doesn't feel threatening." Rukia added. "Just there."

"It's coming from over there." Rangiku whispered, pointing in the direction of the forbidden forest and the Whomping Willow. "I can smell it. It smells like dirt and grime and… yuck."

Toshiro nodded. "That's what I thought, too. I couldn't tell but something makes me want to say over there but I can't be sure where exactly."

"We should head inside." Neville muttered. "We're no good just standing here. And at least there aren't any wandering students, right?"

Rukia nodded. "He has a point. Maybe we should do a security sweep tonight, just to be safe?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, tonight. Now that we've got our Zanpakutou, tonight's the perfect time to start."

"I wish I could help." Neville said as they made their way inside. "But I'm not good enough for something as important as that. Luring an attacker away is one thing; finding and subduing an attacker is completely different."

"Even if you could, you wouldn't be allowed." Toshiro replied. He stopped at the grand staircase and face Neville and his companions. "You're not wandering the halls alone at night. Your teachers would throw a fit just for one of us mentioning allowing a student to security sweep. They'll say it's much too dangerous. And frankly, I agree. When the time comes, you'll be ready for battle. But that time has yet to appear."

Neville sighed. "I know. But if you get attacked while I'm around, I **will** get involved. I'm not just going to run away. Isn't that what you're teaching me? Not to run away from a fight?"

"He's got you there, taicho." Rangiku said with a smirk.

Toshiro frowned, thinking. Finally he locked eyes with Neville. "Then we better hope when that time comes, you're ready. That means double training. We'll stop your Japanese lessons for now and focus on your spiritual powers. We need to get that enhanced."

"For how long?" Neville asked. "Stopping my Japanese lessons, I mean? I liked learning Japanese. I already know how to introduce myself and a bunch of other stuff. I can't order food or anything yet, but I know that won't be learned over night."

"We'll stop your lessons for now." Toshiro answered. "I'm not sure for how long, but for now at least. Learning how to defend yourself is a lot more important than learning how to say you're English in Japanese." He turned to the other three. "We'll security sweep tonight, once everyone has fallen asleep. Make sure no one is awake before leaving your house. Understood?"

Rangiku and Rukia nodded before heading off to their own houses. Toshiro, Neville and Renji continued their way up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower and into the common room. As soon as they entered, Ichigo beckoned them toward the staircase leading to the boys' dormitory and the four of them ascended, intent on putting their purchases on their beds before going down to dinner. "So what's going on?" he asked as they climbed. "I was riding my new broom a while ago and I flew near the Whomping Willow and I suddenly felt funny. Like I was being watched. I wasn't sure what to make of it and I was tempted to go find out what it was, but I couldn't leave the school unprotected, just in case."

The four of them stopped at the landing to the third year dorms and stood off to the side. Quickly and quietly, they explained to Ichigo what they had felt and what their decision had been. Afterwards, he nodded. "So, we're starting tonight?" he clarified.

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, after everyone goes to sleep. Possibly around midnight."

Ichigo nodded and the four of them entered the dormitory. Silently the put their things away, in other words, tossed them onto their beds, and headed back down to the common room and down to the Great Hall for dinner. On the way down, Ichigo and Renji migrated to where the Weasley twins had just emerged from a corridor with a statue of a one-eyed witch, both of them chuckling to themselves. Once in the Great Hall, the two sat at the Gryffindor table and began piling the unusual-colored food onto their plates. Toshiro was relieved to see that the rice at least was still served white.

"It would have been very offensive if they turned it orange like everything else." Toshiro told Neville. "Maybe not to some people, but to me it would have. I like my rice white, not orange and not black."

"I guess it was just safer to leave it alone." Neville answered. He picked up a plate piled with teriyaki beef and added several slices to his plate. "I think I really like teriyaki. It's really good."

Toshiro nodded, his attention floating up to the teachers' table and one teacher in particular. He just remembered that the full moon wasn't that far off and one of the faculty happened to be greatly affected by it. Professor Lupin seemed to be alright on the outside, but if he looked closely, Toshiro could see that he was struggling. The moon's effect was obviously taking its toll on his physic. His face was shallower, though not enough to be noticeable, and he was eating a bit more animal-like than human, using his fingers more than his knife and fork.

"You okay?" Neville asked, glancing between Professor Lupin and Toshiro. "Why are you staring at Professor Lupin?"

At that moment, Lupin turned his head and glanced at Toshiro, locking eyes with him. Toshiro cocked an eyebrow questioningly and Lupin hesitated before nodding. He glanced up at the ceiling, which showed the night sky and the semi-full moon. Then he looked back at Toshiro and shrugged. Toshiro nodded and turned back to his food. Neville blinked and turned back to Toshiro. "What was that about?"

Toshiro shook his head. "Nothing you need to worry about. Just something a bit personal."

"Oh." Neville shrugged and continued eating.

Once everyone was done eating, people began making their way back out into the Entrance Hall and to their respective houses. The Gryffindors headed upstairs to their Tower, Neville and Toshiro amongst them. As they headed up, several students around them, the ones that weren't too sleepy to talk, were chatting about what they had purchased in Hogsmeade or when they thought the next trip would be, or even what they were going to do for Christmas. It wasn't until they reached the portrait hole and saw a crowd of students outside that they stopped talking completely.

"What's going on?" Neville whispered, craning his neck over the sea of students in front of them in order to see what the hold-up was. The older Weasley, Percy, shoved his way forward until he was in front of the group. Suddenly he shouted for someone to get Dumbledore and Toshiro instantly became alert. As soon as Dumbledore arrived, people parted the way for him and Toshiro used that moment to shove his way through, Neville right behind him. What he saw was the portrait that hid Gryffindor's common room, except the canvas was cut to shreds.

Professor Dumbledore called for someone to find the Fat Lady when Peeves spoke from above the gathered crowd. "You'll be lucky if you find her." He cackled.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore asked.

"She's ashamed, Professorhead. Doesn't want to be seen all slashed up." Peeves heaved a large, and obviously fake, sigh. "It's so sad."

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore pressed.

Peeves nodded. "Oh yes. Got a nasty temper, that Sirius Black."

Toshiro's eyes widened, as did the rest of the onlookers. He turned his gaze to Neville and saw a confused jumble of emotions running across his face; fear, alarm, confusion, and was that anger? He shifted his gaze to Renji and Ichigo, both of them looking at him questioningly. Toshiro gave a slight nod and indicated for them to wait. He didn't want to blow their cover until absolutely necessary.

"Students, please head calmly and carefully back to the Great Hall at once." Dumbledore called over the muttering crowd. "Professor Snape, inform your Slytherins. Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagall, alert the other teachers, as well as the heads of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Everyone is to meet in the Great Hall immediately. I will trust the Gryffindor Head Boy to lead his house safely back downstairs."

Percy puffed up his chest importantly and began ushering the students back down the grand staircase. The group huddled close together as they made their way back to the Entrance hall and into the Great Hall. The other houses soon followed, everyone looking around in confusion and speaking curiously to the Gryffindors, wondering what was going on. Toshiro and Neville made their way over to a corner, away from the rest of the students, and was soon joined by Rangiku, Ichigo, Renji and Rukia. Several minutes later, Orihime, Uryu and Chad made their way over, ushered by Urahara.

Urahara removed a silver ring from his right finger, as did the other three, and after looking towards Toshiro, the others soon followed. "_I heard what happened from your Professor Lupin._" Urahara said in Japanese.

Toshiro, after seeing the confused look from Neville, removed his own ring and handed it to him. The others watched curiously as Neville looked at it in surprise before slipping it onto his pinky, the only finger the tiny ring fit on. "_Can you understand me?_" Toshiro asked him.

Neville blinked and nodded. "Can you understand me?" he asked. Toshiro nodded. "Cool."

Urahara glanced from Toshiro to Neville, Rangiku, Renji, Rukia and Ichigo before focusing back on Toshiro. "_I take it he knows._" He said in amusement.

Toshiro nodded. "_Yes, but I would prefer it if no one outside of this school found out about it._" Toshiro replied.

"_Of course not._" Urahara said cheerfully. "_Whatever you decide to do is up to you. Who am I to get involved in others' affairs?_"

"_You do it all the time._" Ichigo and Rukia said simultaneously.

"_Anyways,_" said Toshiro. "_We must do something about this. Sirius Black apparently attacked the portrait of the Fat Lady, which is the entrance to the Gryffindor rooms. Which means he got into the school somehow and it's possible he's still here somewhere. We need to find him. He was obviously intending on getting in to the dorms. Perhaps Harry is his target after all._"

"_But it doesn't make any sense._" Ichigo muttered in frustration. "_I saw his eyes. He didn't look like a killer. He looked troubled and crazed but he didn't look like a murderer, and I've seen plenty. There's gotta be some kind of mistake. Either the lady got his name wrong, or else there was some other motive for him coming here._"

Toshiro nodded. "_I agree. I don't think the Fat Lady made a mistake. But I do believe there's more to this than what we've been told. There's a chance, a small chance for now, that he's not actually here for Harry. Or if he is, then there's some other reason than killing him._"

"Maybe we could look him up somewhere." Neville piped in. The others looked at him questioningly. "What I mean is, there's got to be some kind of record here about him. He had to have learned from somewhere to do magic. If he was taught here at Hogwarts, there's a chance there's some kind of information on him. If there is, we could see what kind of things made him tick back then. Sometimes old habits die hard. For all we know, Azkaban could have made him so crazy that he could be trying to recreate a past event. Or maybe there's someone here he's trying to protect. There are plenty of reasons. And if nothing else, at least we'll have some kind of clue as to who he was. Maybe we could reach him like that or something."

Toshiro looked at him thoughtfully. "_You may have a point. At the very least, we could just have some kind of information on him so that we know what kind of person we're dealing with._"

Just then the rest of the teachers entered the Great Hall and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick shut all the doors. Dumbledore announced to the confused and terrified students that they would be spending the night in the Great Hall while he and the teachers searched the castle. Prefects were to stand guard by the entrances to the Great Hall and the Head Boy and Girl were to be in charge of the entire student body. Then he cast a spell and the house tables were pushed up against the wall. A second wave and hundreds of sleeping bags littered the floor.

The other teachers left the Great Hall and Dumbledore approached the Japanese group. He raised an eyebrow at Neville and then glanced rather sternly at Toshiro. Toshiro held out his hand for his ring and Neville handed it to him. Then he put it on and faced Dumbledore. "I have my reasons." Toshiro answered his questioning gaze. Dumbledore looked as though he wanted to argue.

"Another time, perhaps." He said, though he did not look happy and Toshiro was sure he was serious about discussing this later. He lowered his voice. "I will be back for you all around midnight. That should be enough time for the students to fall asleep. Mr. Longbottom, I expect you to be asleep as well, upon my return."

Neville nodded his head rather nervously. "Yes sir. I know I'm not ready for this sort of thing yet. I've already talked about it with Toshiro."

"I see." Said Dumbledore. He turned back to Toshiro and his eyes momentarily lost their twinkle. Just as quickly as it happened, it ceased. "Now then, Professor Urahara. If you'll follow me please."

"Why of course, Headmaster." Urahara said cheerily. "You kids be good now." He called over his shoulder.

Toshiro and the others rolled their eyes and grabbed several sleeping bags, settling down in their isolated corner. Neville rolled onto his side and looked over to Toshiro. "Did I get you in trouble? I've never seen Dumbledore look so … I don't know. He didn't really look angry but he did look mad. Like he was mad at you because I knew."

"It's fine." Toshiro answered. "I'll take care of it."

"That's what you said about whoever's giving me bad luck." Neville muttered. "'I'll take care of it'."

"And I am." Toshiro replied. "Trust me."

"I always do." Neville replied.

* * *

Nearly four hours later, Dumbledore returned while the rest of the students were asleep and drifted over to the transfers. Harry, Ron and Hermione happened to be close by and watched as Dumbledore bent down to shake Toshiro. Before the man had touched him, Toshiro jerked awake and had his wand pointed at Dumbledore's chest so fast, they nearly missed it. Dumbledore merely raised an eyebrow and waited for Toshiro to realize who it was and put his wand down. "I'm glad to see you're alert, even in your sleep." Dumbledore mumbled quietly. Harry, Ron and Hermione had to strain to hear.

"I must have fallen asleep." Toshiro muttered tiredly. "My apologies. This gigai requires too much sleep. We need to speak to Kurotsuchi about that. We can't be falling asleep during security sweeps."

"No, I suppose you can't." Dumbledore replied. Toshiro rubbed his eyes sleepily. Then he turned and gently shook the others awake, minus Neville. Together, the transfers rose to their feet, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Dumbledore cast a wary look down at Neville before returning his gaze to Toshiro. "I don't appreciate you using my students like this."

Toshiro glared at him. "I'm not using him like anything. I'm helping him build his confidence, something your staff seems to be lacking. And in return, he offered to clue me in on the on-goings of your school."

"Be that as it may, you are putting Mr. Longbottom at serious unnecessary risk." Dumbledore replied.

"I am not." Toshiro snapped. "I haven't told him any more than he needs to. I know what I'm doing."

"I hope you do." Dumbledore replied. "Come. It is time for you to join the security check. You will be stationed outside, searching the grounds for Black."

Dumbledore led the group out the doors, ignoring the curious stares of the prefects and Head Boy & Girl. Harry, Ron and Hermione glanced questioningly to each other. What was that about? Why was Dumbledore making a bunch of students do a security check for a murderer? Didn't he realize how dangerous that was? What if something bad happened to one of them? Surely their Japanese Ministry would disapprove. After all, they were just kids.

Harry frowned and thought about what he had heard Dumbledore and Toshiro talking about. The way Toshiro spoke, it was almost as if he was expecting to be in on the security checks. And about Neville. What did Dumbledore mean that Toshiro was putting Neville at risk? Risk for what? What had Toshiro told him? What does Neville know that's so dangerous? And what on earth was a 'gee-guy'? So many questions flowed through Harry's head that by the time he started to fall asleep, Dumbledore had returned without the transfers. He wandered over to where Percy was checking over Neville, who was now sleeping alone.

Harry glanced over to see Hermione and Ron still awake as well. They listened as Percy spoke in a whisper. "Did you find him, Professor?"

"No, I'm afraid not. How are things here?" he asked.

"Nothing I can't handle sir." Percy said pompously.

"Good. It's too late to move them back to their dorms when they'll just be getting up for breakfast in a few hours." Said Dumbledore. "We'll let them sleep here for what's left of the night."

"And what about our portrait, sir?" Percy asked.

"She's very upset and is currently in hiding. Apparently she refused to allow Black in without the password and in his rage, he attacked." Dumbledore sighed. "Once she's calmed down enough to emerge, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."

Just then Snape entered the Great Hall and headed over to them. "The entire third floor has been searched, as has the dungeons. No sign of him."

"Has everything been searched?" Dumbledore asked.

"All searched and cleared." Snape replied.

"And our extra help?"

"They haven't returned, sir." Snape replied. "I believe _he_ has led them into the Forbidden Forest. Extra precaution, I assume."

"The Forbidden Forest?" Dumbledore said in alarm. Harry and his friends exchanged startled and worried looks. Toshiro and the others went into the forest? Wasn't anyone going to go after them? Would they ever see them again?

"Professor, aren't the transfers a bit young to be in on the security detail?" Percy questioned. "After all, two of them are no older than my youngest brother and the others about the same as the twins. Surely this would be too dangerous for them."

"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, that those students can take care of themselves. We needn't worry." Dumbledore replied.

"But wouldn't their Ministry disapprove? No matter what they've learned, they're still children." Percy pressed.

"They will be fine. I am not worried." Said Dumbledore. Harry frowned. He had to agree with Percy. They were still kids and Black had murdered a whole street full of muggles and a single wizard. Surely a bunch of students wouldn't be any match for him. Not to mention any of the creatures that resided in the forest. What if they met a werewolf or something?

"Have you any ideas as to how Black got in, Professor?" Snape asked. "_They_ seem to think the Forbidden Forest. They said something about a feeling of being watched upon returning from Hogsmeade. And it was coming from that general direction. I tried to tell them that many things reside in that forest but they were unwilling to believe me."

"I'm afraid there's not much we can do to persuade them otherwise." Dumbledore amended. "They have very good senses and even their Headmaster is very stubborn. One can only hope they find something useful. As for myself, I have many theories, but none of them seem very likely."

"You remember my suggestion, Headmaster?" Snape asked quietly. "Of how Black could have gotten in? And the conversation we had before term?"

"We had many conversations, Severus." Dumbledore said but the tone in his voice said he knew exactly which conversation Snape was talking about and he wasn't happy about returning to it.

"It just seems as though the only way Black could have entered this school, Professor, would be if he had – inside help. I mentioned it when you first appointed – "

"I do not believe Black is gaining access to this school through inside help." Dumbledore said firmly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to inform the Dementors of our search status."

"Didn't they want to help, Professor?" Percy asked.

"Of course they did." Dumbledore said bitterly. "But no Dementor will step foot into this school while I'm still Headmaster." Dumbledore turned and left the hall, and after several moments, Snape left as well.

* * *

The next morning was spent with whispers floating up and down corridors, students walking in apprehensive groups and Toshiro and the other shinigami were feeling very sleepy. It had been a long night, patrolling the school with the teachers in search for Sirius Black. The Soul Reapers, along with Ichigo's three friends, spend the night performing a thorough search of the building and school grounds. After a few hours of searching to no avail, Toshiro led them all into the Forbidden Forest, entering through the area near the Whomping Willow, where their suspicions had been placed earlier that night. Toshiro had instructed them to be extremely careful and to not harm any of the creatures that resided as long as they could help it. By the time they had returned to the school, it was nearly time for students to start awakening and the Soul Reapers were so covered in dirt, sweat and debris that they headed straight to their dorms for a shower and a change of clothes, deciding to tell their classmates that they had gotten up early. None of the other students ceased their apprehension in the slightest after being told that Sirius Black was no longer in the building.

"If he got in once without anyone noticing, what's to stop him from coming in again?" someone asked no one in particular.

Toshiro had to admit, though, that they had a point. But what bothered him was how Black had gotten into the school in the first place. How _had_ he gotten in? The Dementors were supposed to prevent such a thing from happening and Dumbledore himself had claimed that they had taken extra precautions when news of Black's escape from prison first reached their ears. Yet the man had not only entered the school undetected, but he managed to get to and from Gryffindor Tower and back out of the school just the same. Clearly somewhere in this school, security was lacking. But where?

"So, you guys couldn't find _anything_ last night?" Neville asked quietly as they ate breakfast. Toshiro had told Neville what they had learned, which wasn't much, while students were allowed to return to their dorms to change and ready themselves for the day. He and the others had been quiet ever since they returned, all of them seeming to be in deep thought and on constant alert.

Toshiro shook his head. "No. It was as if he had vanished. But I don't believe that's possible. According to a book I read in the library, there are several complex spells and stuff on these walls that prevent acts like that."

Neville nodded. "Yeah, I've heard Hermione tell Harry and Ron that loads of times."

"I doubt the Dementors let him in." Toshiro continued. "And I doubt he was able to sneak passed them at the gates. That just means there's a way into the grounds that no one seems to know about. A way that can allow him to pass safely through these walls without being harmed or detected. Question is: how?"

Neville shrugged helplessly. "Beats me. But he can't hide forever. Eventually he'll slip up and get caught. You guys are pretty stealthy and well skilled, from what I've witnessed and heard. You'll find him."

Toshiro sighed and rubbed his hand over his face in exhaustion. "I hope so."

"For now, maybe you should skip class and go sleep in the hospital wing or something." Neville suggested, looking at his friend in concern. "You don't look so good. You look like you're going to fall asleep into your tea."

Toshiro rubbed his eyes tiredly with the back of his hand, making him appear so child-like that several girls down the table giggled and aww-ed in his direction and Neville had a sudden urge to want to force him back to bed, despite the fact that he knew very well that Toshiro was not a child. Toshiro was obviously too tired to either notice or care as he sighed and took another drink of his tea. "I'm alright. I'll just skip lunch and take a quick nap before next class or something."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked. "Professor Lupin is first today and he'll definitely let you go to the hospital wing to rest for a while. You look exhausted."

"I'll be fine." Said Toshiro. Neville was reluctant to believe him but he couldn't see any other way around it unless he magically knocked his friend out and that didn't seem like such a good idea.

"Well, if you're sure." He said.

"I am." Said Toshiro. He drained the rest of his tea and stood. "Come on, we better get going or we'll be late."

Neville blinked and looked at his watch. "But we're early. Class doesn't start for another twenty-five minutes."

"Better early than late." Toshiro countered, and he began heading out of the Great Hall. Neville sighed and followed.

"You're going to kill yourself if you don't try taking it easy every once in a while." Neville told him. He really did work too hard.

"Not likely." Toshiro replied. He lowered his voice, causing Neville to jog to keep up in order to hear him. "Have you forgotten that I'm not exactly alive to begin with?"

"Oh, yeah." Neville said thoughtfully. "Still."

Toshiro hmm-ed but didn't comment. The two of them reached their Defense Against the Dark Arts class and Toshiro took his usual seat by the window with Neville on his right. The other boy kept shooting glances his way, as if expecting him to fall over in his exhaustion. To be honest, Toshiro wasn't really sure why he was so tired. He'd pulled all-nighters loads of times back when he was in the academy. Sometimes his all-nighters were two to three nights in a row. But for some reason, he was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the dorms and crawl back into bed and not wake up for the next several hours. But he knew that was out of the question. He couldn't very well protect the students if he was sleeping. Despite what he had told Neville, he didn't think he would sleep during lunch. His being awake during the day was just too important right now. Tonight, when they had another security sweep, he'd sleep after his shift. He would just have to make his body get used to limited sleep. It was the only way.

"Toshiro." Neville whispered. He reached out and shook his friend's shoulder. "Toshiro, wake up."

Toshiro snapped his head up, not realizing he had put it down in the first place. Glanced around at Neville and then at the room at large. The entire class, including Lupin, was staring at him. Toshiro rubbed his eyes. "I seemed to have fallen asleep. My apologies. It won't happen again."

"Mr. Hitsugaya, would you like to go to the Hospital Wing?" Lupin asked in concern. "You don't look too well. You look exhausted."

"I'm fine." Toshiro replied. "Thanks for asking. I didn't sleep much last night but I'll try to sleep better tonight."

"Are you sure?" Lupin asked.

"I am." He said. "If worse comes to worse, I could always make a potion. There's bound to be one that helps relieve drowsiness."

"There are, but they shouldn't be used in place of actual sleep." Lupin warned.

"I know." Toshiro said.

The rest of the day passed with Toshiro forcing himself to stay awake. It seemed as though the more he tried to stay awake, the sleepier he became until staying awake seemed to become a personal battle. He didn't take a nap during lunch as he had told Neville he would, much to the other boy's irritation. Staying awake was just too crucial right now. Neville tried to argue but before he could convince Toshiro to go take a nap, lunch was nearly over. So with a huff, Neville instead threatened to magically carry him to the Hospital Wing if he fell asleep in class again.

It wasn't until later that night, on their way down to dinner that his sleepiness finally took its toll. He and Neville made their way down the stairs, along with the rest of the classes that had just been released, intent on getting to the Great Hall and dinner. The sooner dinner ended, the sooner Toshiro would be able to sleep before his shift that night. As they reached the fifth floor and headed down the hall to the next set of stairs, something caught Toshiro's attention out of the corner of his eye. Toshiro looked over the rail down to the Entrance Hall below in time to see Draco Malfoy aim his wand in their direction.

Toshiro turned to see what the boy had been aiming at and saw one of the suits of armor start to fall forwards towards him. He took a couple of steps back, but Neville, who hadn't noticed either the boy or the armor, continued walking while looking curiously back at Toshiro. Toshiro rushed forward and placed himself between Neville and the suit of armor. The weight of the armor, and the power of exhaustion, caused Toshiro to stumble backwards into Neville. Neville was knocked against the rail and suddenly flipped over it, heading for the ground five stories below. People screamed and shouted as Toshiro shoved the armor off of himself and lunged over the rail after his friend. Once he was in reach, he wrapped his arms around Neville from behind and without stopping to think, shoved his hand into Neville's right pocket and pulled out one of the few chocoballs Neville had stuck into his pocket to hold him over until lunch and dinner.

Quickly, Toshiro yanked off the wrapper and threw the chocoball towards the ground as they came closer and closer to it. Then he muttered an enlargement spell and pointed his wand at the chocolate candy. Instantly the chocoball swelled, enlarging until it was the size of a small hot air balloon. Before Toshiro could think of anything else, the two of them broke through the outer shell of the hollow ball of chocolate and landed with a squelching _squish!_ into the mass of strawberry mousse and clotted crème.

Students and teachers froze in shock as they waited and wondered if the two were alright. Just as several of the teachers started to rush forward, there came a dull thumping noise from one side of the giant ball of chocolate and then a chunk of chocolate broke apart near the bottom and a flood of strawberry mousse and crème pooled out onto the floor. More chunks of chocolate fell out around the hole until it was large enough for Toshiro and Neville to be seen, as they struggled to make their way through the mousse and crème concoction. Toshiro was closest to the hole and he reached out and grabbed a hold of the edge, pulling himself through and out onto the floor. Once he was out, he turned and hauled Neville out as well, who seemed to be struggling to get the mousse and crème out of his eyes and nose.

Once they were both out, they stood and faced the rest of the school, which had slowly gathered around the Entrance Hall, dripping mousse and crème from every inch of their bodies. Neville licked some of the crème off of his fingers and turned wide eyed to Toshiro. "That was awesome!" he cried. "How did you even think of that?"

Toshiro shook his head and attempted to brush the hot pink and white gunk from his face and hair. Neville took a step and slipped, falling against Toshiro and bumping the other boy back into the ball of chocolate and the pool of mousse and crème. He came back up sputtering and wiping gunk from his eyes. "Damn it, Neville!"

"Sorry." Neville laughed. Neville's laughter and the sudden comical act caused the rest of the school to break out of their shock, as several started laughing and mumbling to each other.

"How did this happen?" McGonagall suddenly asked, coming forward but stopping just outside the pool of mousse and crème that littered the floor.

"It was deliberate, Professor." Toshiro muttered, spitting out the crème and mousse that had slipped into his mouth. "Ugh."

"What do you mean, deliberate?" McGonagall demanded.

"Mr. Hitsugaya?" Toshiro looked up to see Dumbledore make his way through the throng of students. "What happened?"

"Someone cast a spell on a suit of armor so that it fell." Toshiro replied. "I'm not entirely sure who, but I know it was a spell. I saw the light of the spell when it hit. The suit of armor started to fall forwards and unfortunately, it was aimed at Neville. I tried to stop it but unfortunately I'm a bit exhausted, so when it fell on me, I didn't have the energy to stop it from pushing me backwards. In my stumble, I bumped into Neville and knocked him against the rail. He fell over it and I jumped over to keep him from falling on his head, or any other critical body part. In my haste, I didn't think and stuck my hand into his pocket, where I know he's been keeping several of these chocoballs that he bought from Honeydukes. The first think on my mind was to land on something soft, to prevent damage. Thus…" Toshiro ended by gesturing to the giant chocolate/mousse/crème monstrosity behind him.

"If you don't mind, I am in desperate need for a shower." He continued. He held his arms out on either side, allowing sticky blobs of mousse and crème to drip from his sleeves and robes to the pool at their feet. "I have strawberry mousse and clotted crème in places neither of these should ever be."

Several people giggled and snickered at his comment, including Neville as he continued to eat the crème and mousse from his hands and fingers. Dumbledore nodded and the teachers began ushering students into the Great Hall. As Draco walked passed them, Toshiro turned and smirked at him. "Nice try." He muttered in a low voice. "But you'll have to do better than that." Malfoy scowled and hurried into the Great Hall. Snape, who had been ushering the Slytherins into the Great Hall and had heard Toshiro, stared at him with a smirk and a quirked eyebrow. Toshiro smirked back and shrugged nonchalantly. Snape's smirk deepened and he headed into the Great Hall after his students.

"So, it's Malfoy?" Neville asked quietly.

"Yes." Toshiro answered tersely. He waved his wand and the gooey gunk disappeared from the floor, leaving it spotless. He waved his wand again and the giant ball of chocolate shrank until it was back to its original Snitch size. Then he picked it up and headed upstairs, Neville following behind. Toshiro waved his wand at the ground with every step, erasing their gooey footprints from the floor as they walked. He stopped at the nearest classroom and deposited the chocolate ball into the trash before continuing the rest of the way up.

"So, you've known it was Malfoy the entire time?" Neville asked. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Because, at the time, it would have only discouraged you and frightened you to think that you were a target of his for some reason." Toshiro said. "But now look at you. Knowing that it was he who had been messing with you, how do you feel?"

Neville thought for a moment. "Annoyed. Irritated. Confused."

"Afraid?" Toshiro asked.

Neville shook his head. "Not really. Just annoyed that he's doing this to me and I don't know why."

"Exactly." Toshiro replied. "Before, you would have been afraid, terrified even. You would have been a bumbling mess, worrying yourself into a frenzy over the fact that he's targeting you. Now, all you want to know is why. That's a big difference, don't you think?"

Neville looked thoughtful. He was right. Before he had met Toshiro, he would have worried himself into a stupor at just the thought of being a target to anyone. Now, he didn't feel afraid. Just annoyed. Perhaps Toshiro's attitude was rubbing off on him? "You're right. Huh."

The two entered the common room and headed up to their dorm. There they gathered their clothes and headed to the bathroom for a much needed shower. As Toshiro washed the goo from his hair, he couldn't help wondering what Malfoy had left to throw at them. So far, he and his goonies had managed to come up short and this prank was a complete and utter failure. If he kept things going the way they were, then before he knew it, Neville would be the popular one and poor little Draco Malfoy would be all but forgotten. The thought made Toshiro smile as he rinsed himself a final time before shutting off the water and grabbing his towel, dryed himself off and began putting on his sleep clothes. He had no intention of going back downstairs and into the line of sight of gawking students. He'll deal with that tomorrow. Not tonight. Tonight, he needed to sleep.

He headed back into the dorm and placed his now gunk-free, yet soaking wet, clothes along the furnace to dry and dug into his trunk for some of the emergency food Rangiku had given them. a few moments later, Neville entered the room and placed his wet clothes along the furnace beside Toshiro's. "Do you have any more of that ramen?" he asked as he sat on his bed. He didn't feel like going down to dinner anymore either.

Toshiro nodded and handed him one of the foam bowls. Then he repeated his previous action and filled both bowls with water from the pitcher before tapping the sides with his wand. Both bowls steamed and the noodles softened and both boys dug into their small meal. "Thanks, by the way." Neville said as they ate. "For saving me and all. I never would have expected you to do something like that. It was kind of funny, if you think about it."

"I try not to." Toshiro replied. "It was very uncomfortable having that gunk slip into every single crevice of my person. I don't ever wish for a repeat."

Neville laughed. Once they were finished, Toshiro placed both of their bowls into the trash under the nightstand between their beds and climbed into his own. "I'm due to wake up at midnight. My shift tonight is from then until three with Ichigo's friend Uryu, Rangiku, and Ichigo's other friend Orihime. Then at three, Ichigo, Renji, Rukia and Ichigo's friend Chad take over until six. Then we call it quits until the next night, where we switch shifts, and so forth. So tonight, I need to sleep until midnight."

"Well, then stop talking and go to bed." Came Neville's smart ass remark. Toshiro scowled at him and closed his curtains around his bed. "Night, Toshiro."

"Night."

* * *

**A/N: Hermione bugged the crap out of me throughout this book. I got so annoyed when she defended her cat when it was going after Scabbers. I know he turned out to be Peter and all that but still. It's the fact that she didn't do a single thing and the cat obviously keeps attacking the rat and yet she gets mad at others for getting mad at her cat. She was being stupid and I couldn't stand it. I've wanted to say the stuff Toshiro said but obviously I couldn't. So I had Toshiro do it instead, though he realized that his outburst was probably due to stress and stuff.**

**And I don't remember how much Butterbeer costs, so I'm making it up. If someone knows the correct amount, let me know and I'll go back and fix it.**

**And what did you think of my idea for the ending? With the chocoball. It took me forever to come up with it. I hope it pleased everyone. Comment and tell me what you thought. And I hope you guys enjoyed these two chapters and I'll post the next one once I finish it. Not sure when that'll be. Don't forget to review!**

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_*Hajime mashite_ (_ha gee meh mah shi teh)_ – pleased to meet you

*_Watashi wa … desu_ (_wah tah shee wah … __dess_or _deh su)_ – in this context, meaning roughly "…" is who I am; this means me.

*_Watashi wa … jin desu (wah tah shee wah … jeen dess)_ – roughly means "this is my country"

*_**Iigirisu**_ (_ee gee ree su)_ – England (the word _jin_ must be after the country in order to make sense.

*_**Indo**_ (_een doh)_ – India

*_**Osutoraria**__ (ooh stoh rah ree ah)_ – Australia

*_**Amerika**_ (_ah meh dee kah)_ – America

*_**Nippon**_ or _Nihon (nee hon)_ – Japan

*_Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu (yo roh shee koh oh neh guy shee mass)_ – roughly means "please be kind to me" or "please treat me kindly"

*_Douzo_ (_doh zoh)_ – a form of please (used as _douzo yoroshiku onegai-shimasu_ is like the ultra-polite form of the above answer)


End file.
